Exclusive: Assets & Homes of Former Political Leaders Taken Over By Taliban Officials | Afghanistan International
Exclusive: Assets & Homes of Former Political Leaders Taken Over By Taliban Officials
Afghanistan International has learned that Taliban officials have seized the personal assets of several leaders and officials of the former Afghan government.
According to sources, Taliban officials have plundered the assets of Mir Rahman Rahmani, Atta Mohammad Noor, and other former officials.
With the rapid fall of the previous government and the Taliban's return to Afghan cities in the summer of 2021, many Afghan politicians abandoned their assets and left Afghanistan; a significant number of political leaders did not wish to live under Taliban control due to their staunch stance against the group.
Abdul Rashid Dostum, Karim Khalili, Yunus Qanooni, Mohammad Mohaqiq, Salahuddin Rabbani, Rahmatullah Nabil, Atta Mohammad Noor, Abdul Rab Rasul Sayyaf, and Mohammad Ismail Khan are among the leaders who left Afghanistan following the fall of the previous government.
According to information received by Afghanistan International, Taliban officials have seized the assets and homes of several of these politicians.
Afghanistan International has obtained information indicating that Manan Omari, one of the founders of the Taliban group, has "seized" the house and vehicles of Mir Rahman Rahmani, the former Speaker of the Afghan Lower House of Parliament.
Meanwhile, Idris Anwar, the Taliban's deputy governor in Parwan, has taken over the house and assets of Amanullah Guzar, a jihadi commander, and his brothers.
Information indicates that the houses of Ghulam Bahauddin Jailani, the former Minister of State for Disaster Management, have been seized by Qari Sadiq, the Taliban's intelligence chief in Parwan.
Sources told Afghanistan International that the guesthouse of Atta Mohammad Noor, a leader of one of the factions of Jamiat e Islami, has been seized by the Taliban governor in Balkh, and his garden has been taken over by the Taliban's security chief in the province.
Information shows that the Taliban in Parwan have converted the house of Jan Ahmad Haqjo, a former commander, into the headquarters of the Second Security District of the province.
The Taliban's mayor in Mazar-e Sharif has plundered the house and garden of Fazluddin Ayar, the former governor of Parwan.
However, the Taliban had previously stated that they would return the properties and assets of former government officials to their owners.
Contrary to this claim, however, the group has, since gaining power, seized the houses and assets of several political figures and former officials, converting them into military bases for their personnel.
This group had previously seized the house and vehicles of Ismail Khan, a former jihadi leader in Herat city.
According to our information, Sufi Gardizi, a Taliban member, is living in Mohammad Mohaqiq's house. Some sources said that the Taliban had also seized the house of General Murad Ali Murad.
Reports indicate that two months after gaining control of Afghanistan in 2021, the Taliban destroyed the house of Rahmatullah Nabil, the former head of Afghan National Security, in Maidan Wardak province.
Photos of Nabil's house have been circulated, showing it reduced to ruins.
Hashmat Ghani Ahmadzai, brother of former President Ashraf Ghani, said in 2022 that Ibrahim Haqqani, a senior member of the Haqqani network, had "seized" Ashraf Ghani's house.
Fazl Ahmad Manawi, the former Minister of Justice of Afghanistan, also announced in 2022 that the Taliban had burned down his house and library in Panjshir province. Manawi told Afghanistan International: "There were many old and valuable books there."
Recently, the Taliban evicted Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, the leader of Hizb-e-Islami, from his residence and office in Kabul. The Taliban claimed that Hekmatyar was living on government land. They accused him of seizing government land, but Hekmatyar argued he was residing there based on an agreement with the previous government.
While the Taliban continues to seize land and assets of former officials, the group has established a commission to prevent land grabbing.
The exact number of houses and assets of political leaders and former government officials that have fallen into the hands of the Taliban is not currently known.
Taliban spokesperson, Zabihullah Mujahid, has lauded Russia's deliberation on excluding the group from its roster of terrorist organisations, labelling the gesture "a prudent and realistic action”.
The Russian Foreign Ministry disclosed that the proposal to remove the Taliban from the nation's terrorist organisations list is currently under assessment.
According to reports from Taliban-operated National Radio on Tuesday, Mujahid stated that the Taliban “has been a movement dedicated to Afghanistan's independence, accurately reflecting the aspirations of the Afghan populace”.
He underscored the practicality of Russia's potential delisting of the Taliban, urging other nations to adopt a realistic stance towards the group.
Despite Mujahid's assertions that the Taliban are the "authentic representatives" of the Afghan people, the international community is yet to formally recognise the regime as Afghanistan's legitimate government. Moreover, several recognised political factions within Afghanistan continue to question its legitimacy.
Nonetheless, Mujahid expressed optimism that other countries' willingness to engage with the Taliban could lead to commendable outcomes.
He further suggested that acknowledging the real situation regarding the Taliban could foster trust between the group and international entities, potentially catalysing substantial progress in the global political and diplomatic fields.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan announced that the country hosted the 19th edition of the meeting of National Security Advisors of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) on Tuesday.
According to the ministry, combating terrorism, extremism, separatism, and drug trafficking are among the focal points of this two-day meeting.
Kazakhstan's media reported that Iran would join this meeting for the first time as a member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.
The Islamic Republic News Agency also reported that Ali Akbar Ahmadian, the Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, departed for Astana on Tuesday morning, at the invitation of his Kazakh counterpart to participate in the meeting of the secretaries of the National Security Councils of the SCO member countries.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan, observer countries of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, Mongolia, and Belarus were invited as guests to this meeting.
Aibek Smadiyarov, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan, stated that as part of this meeting, discussions are expected on pressing international issues within the responsibility zone of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, including joint combat against terrorism, separatism, and extremism, illicit drug, and psychotropic substances trafficking.
Smadiyarov mentioned that fighting transnational organised crime, cooperation in international information security, and further interaction with the United Nations and regional security organisations like the Collective Security Treaty Organisation will be among the topics discussed at the meeting.
He added that at the end of this meeting, it is expected that the national security advisors of the SCO member countries will sign a document regarding joint approaches to further develop multilateral cooperation and focus on regional and international security.
Habib-ur-Rahman Hekmatyar, the son of the leader of Hizb-e-Islami, criticised the Taliban's authoritarian behaviour and described their treatment of Afghans as similar to that of ISIS.
In an interview with Afghanistan International, he stated that the Taliban only accept their own members and view others as either submissive or as having fled the country.
Speaking to Afghanistan International, he mentioned that the Taliban will not change and will remain as they are, considering the stance of this group's officials as "unpleasant”.
Gulbuddin Hekmatyar's son explained the recent conflicts between the Taliban and the leader of the Islamic Party, elucidating why Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, who had previously supported some of the Taliban's political positions, is now not favouring the group.
Hekmatyar added, "ISIS says only their way is right and principled. Anyone who follows my path is a heaven-dweller, and anyone who doesn't follow me is a hell-dweller. They have declared war against everyone."
The son of the former jihadi leader stated that the Taliban "call only themselves Muslims and consider others to be in error”.
Habib-ur-Rahman Hekmatyar has made harsh criticisms against the Taliban following the eviction of his father, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, from his residence by the Taliban's orders.
The Taliban claimed that the residence of the Islamic Party's leader was built on government land and he was not entitled to it.
On Tuesday, the Russian Foreign Ministry told TASS news agency that the possibility of removing the Taliban from Russia's list of terrorist organisations is being considered.
Meanwhile, Zamir Kabulov, Russia's special representative for Afghanistan, has said that Moscow regularly cooperates with the Taliban in counterterrorism efforts.
According to TASS, the Russian Foreign Ministry stated that the Ministry of Justice, Foreign Ministry, and other relevant agencies of the Russian government are actively examining the removal of Taliban from the list of terrorist organisations.
However, the ultimate decision on this matter will be made by the leadership of Russia.
Despite being classified as a banned terrorist organisation in Russia, Moscow maintains good relations with the Taliban and extends invitations to its officials to visit the country.
Kabulov told TASS news agency that the Taliban has been invited to attend the World Islamic Conference in Kazan city of Russia on May 14, 2024.
Russia is concerned about the presence of terrorist groups in Afghanistan, which, according to Moscow, could threaten the security of Central Asian countries.
Previously, reports had been published regarding Russia's cooperation with the Taliban to combat ISIS, a group that carried out a bloody attack in Russia last week.
The National Resistance Front of Afghanistan (NRF) announced on Tuesday that its forces had carried out an attack at a Taliban checkpoint in Kabul, resulting in the death of two Taliban members and the injury of two others.
In a statement posted on X social media platform on Monday, the NRF reported that the attack occurred at 8:30pm in the ninth police district of Kabul city.
The Front accused Taliban members stationed at the checkpoint of consistent harassment and intimidation of local residents and passersby along the route.
Over the past few weeks, the NRF has consistently reported carrying out attacks on Taliban checkpoints and bases not only in Kabul, but also in several other provinces.
Despite these reports, the Taliban has not reacted to the claims made by the NRF.
