Hundreds Protest In Northern Balkh Province As Taliban Move To Raze Shops
Hundreds of residents of Mazar-i-Sharif city staged protests on Tuesday against the Taliban’s plan to demolish long-standing shops in the city’s auction market.
Hundreds of residents of Mazar-i-Sharif city staged protests on Tuesday against the Taliban’s plan to demolish long-standing shops in the city’s auction market.
Demonstrators chanted “Death to traitors” and accused the group of threatening their livelihoods.
A local resident told Afghanistan International that Taliban authorities moved to tear down several shops early Tuesday. Traders who arrived at work found demolition under way. He said the Taliban had collected taxes from the same businesses for the past four years but were now preparing to destroy them without prior warning.
Shopkeepers argued their businesses, some of which have been operating for four decades, were their only source of income. They demanded that the Taliban provide alternative premises before carrying out demolitions.
Taliban spokesman in Balkh, Haji Zaid, confirmed the shops would be cleared under a contract authorised by Taliban officials in Kabul to build a new commercial market. He said local authorities had spoken with protesters in an attempt to ease tensions.
Nasim Amiri, a former member of the Balkh Chamber of Commerce, told Afghanistan International the shops were owned by the Ministry of Hajj and Religious Affairs and recently leased to a private company under the Taliban’s economic office for redevelopment.
Protesters warned that the demolitions would leave hundreds of families without income. Similar demonstrations over Taliban property seizures and demolitions have taken place in Bamiyan and other provinces.
