Shopkeepers in Kabul's Qarabagh District Claim Taliban Seizures of Properties and Extortion

Shopkeepers and residents in Qarabagh district of Kabul province claim that Taliban forces are seizing private properties, engaging in extortion, and committing administrative corruption, threatening their economic livelihoods.

According to the shopkeepers, nearly 2,000 vendors from various ethnicities and languages face financial ruin. They state that their lands and shops, purchased with personal savings including sold gold, hold Sharia ownership documents over 90 years old. These properties were sold to locals by previous governments on two occasions, with 95% of around 1,000 shops possessing customary deeds. The previous Kabul governor had promised to formalize these documents.

The shopkeepers allege that the Taliban municipality plans to demolish about 700 shops and hand the land to a private company for high-rise construction, benefiting certain individuals, without compensation to original owners. They describe this as seizure of Muslim property. Rents on personal shops have reportedly risen from 4,000-5,000 afghanis per month to 15,000-25,000 afghanis, which they call unjust given widespread poverty and unemployment.

Further claims include Taliban bans on buying and selling private properties, suppression of complaints by labeling protesters as 'rebels,' and beatings of vendors with whips and cables. Last year, the municipality allegedly cut down five old plane trees on private and public land to build high-rises for themselves and associates, now collecting rents from those structures.

Shopkeepers also report crop losses of grapes, apples, and potatoes due to closed export routes, with no Taliban support, alongside heavy taxes yielding no services. Despite announced tax exemptions, they say extortion of impoverished vendors continues.

The affected parties demand an immediate halt to shop demolitions, cancellation of private company contracts, restoration of property trading rights, and revocation of rents on personal properties.