Local sources in Badakhshan province reveal the existence of an extensive and organized network for the plunder of gold mines and other natural resources by influential figures affiliated with the Taliban. According to sources, this process is carried out systematically using force, corruption, and collusion with some Taliban leaders. Sources also report the involvement of the Taliban governor in Badakhshan in mining extraction and smuggling, stating that by appointing loyal individuals, he has weakened local Taliban and is extensively involved in the pillaging of natural resources. These sources add that individuals affiliated with Faisal Khorasani, with the support of Mawlawi Saif al-Din Taayeb, deputy of the Taliban affairs administration, play an active role in the rampant extraction of mines, particularly gold in Shahr-e Bozorg district and other areas of Badakhshan. According to sources, these actions have not only led to the plunder of national wealth but have also caused serious damage to the environment and local ecosystem, significantly increasing the risk of an environmental crisis in the future.
In conversations with the Hasht-e Subh Daily, sources express serious concern about the extensive and rampant extraction of mines, particularly gold mines in Badakhshan, by the Taliban and individuals affiliated with this group. These sources say that the enormous wealth and public assets are being squandered by specific groups, and the process of illegal extraction and smuggling continues with intensity. According to sources, these actions are carried out in coordination and partnership with some Taliban officials, and members of this group, up to leadership levels, are involved in mining extraction and profit-sharing.
A reliable source says: “Faisal Khorasani, with Taayeb’s support, has forcibly seized 120 jeribs (24 hectares) of land in Jalik plain located in the Pan Mor village and has also taken dozens of other land plots from project owners. After he was not allowed to operate in the Chah Ab district of Takhar, he transferred his activities to Badakhshan.”
Based on sources’ statements, individuals who were accused of killing several mine workers in these areas were not only not arrested or punished, but were pardoned by the Taliban affairs administration and re-armed. These individuals now operate freely in the “Ab Ganda” area of the Dawong basin in the Shahr-e Bozorg district, engaging in harassment and extortion of people through force and weapons.
Sources also claim that Faisal Khorasani has employed several social media users and set monthly salaries for them to publish supportive content and whitewash his image. These individuals, who, according to the source, are known as “Khorasani’s Facebook lackeys,” engage in coordinated propaganda for him in cyberspace.
One source says: “In the mining area, all operations are carried out by an individual named Muawiya, who is Mawlawi Saif al-Din’s contact person and has been introduced as the mine manager, while the official mine management was previously canceled and has no legal title.”
The source adds: “Any land that shows signs of more gold is reported to Taayeb by local people. He also forcibly seizes that area and, in return, gives shares to those who reported the location.”
Sources further add that in extraction projects with Chinese participation, senior Taliban figures, including Qari Fasihuddin Fitrat, chief of staff of the Taliban army, Mawlawi Aman al-Din, and Mawlawi Saif al-Din, are also partners. In local projects in Awiz and Pan Mor areas, the Taliban mining chief takes between 5 to 10 percent share from each project.
Sources say: “Anyone who doesn’t have a license just needs to give a few percent share. The Taliban mining chief himself says: Go work without a license; see who dares to stop you. But if no share is given to him, no one is allowed to extract.” According to sources, he also pays monthly bribes to Taliban officials in Kabul to avoid being removed from his position.
Seizure and Extraction of Mines by the Taliban Governor
Additionally, sources say that Ayub Khalid, the Taliban governor in Badakhshan, has seized 20 jeribs (4 hectares) of land in the “Sorkha Awiz” area and has personally engaged in mine extraction there. According to sources, in addition to this, he also receives shares from other mines in Badakhshan. By appointing close associates from Kandahar, he has effectively rendered the local Taliban powerless, and alongside this, he also leads drug smuggling networks in the region.
Forced Marriages by Taliban Officials
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Another source claims that Mawlawi Saif al-Din Taayeb, deputy of the Taliban affairs administration, has married three times in the past two years. Additionally, sources have revealed the multiple marriages of local Taliban officials and individuals affiliated with this group, emphasizing that Raziullah, known as Faisal Khorasani, is also accused of torturing and beating his first wife. According to these sources, he is now engaged to another young girl and has warned his first wife that if she continues her protests, she will face “harsher treatment.”
The information provided by local sources paints a concerning picture of structural corruption and rampant plunder of natural resources in Badakhshan province. Collusion among senior Taliban officials, extortion, land grabbing, exploitation of women, environmental destruction, and financial corruption are all part of a widespread pattern of power abuse occurring in this province. While local people live in increasing poverty and insecurity, Afghanistan’s natural resources are being plundered by mafia networks affiliated with power.
Previously, Foreign Policy had reported that the Taliban’s interior minister is expanding control over Afghanistan’s mines. Foreign Policy, on July 11, published a report quoting a mining expert stating that Siraj al-Din Haqqani, Taliban interior minister and leader of the Haqqani network, is expanding his control over Afghanistan’s mines because he understands that with increasing internal Taliban differences and the possibility of civil war within this group, whoever controls mining extraction money will hold power. This media outlet said that, considering Afghanistan’s conditions, the mining sector provides the foundation for power and survival for those who control mining areas, and Haqqani is one of those who understands the importance of mines for achieving power.
Last year, Foreign Policy magazine also published a report warning that the al-Qaeda network had returned to Afghanistan and, under Taliban protection, was making enormous profits from illegal mining extraction in the country’s northeast, particularly in Badakhshan and Takhar. The report stated that al-Qaeda, under Taliban protection, has employed tens of thousands of workers for illegal mining extraction and pockets tens of millions of dollars weekly from gold mines in these provinces.
According to this report, al-Qaeda receives 25 percent of the income from these mines, a share allocated to this group by the Haqqani network and the group affiliated with Hibatullah Akhundzada. Foreign Policy also wrote that the Taliban’s monthly income from gold mines reaches more than $25 million, while these amounts are not recorded in the group’s official budget and go directly into the pockets of senior Taliban officials and networks affiliated with them. According to the report, since the beginning of mining extraction in early 2022, al-Qaeda has earned approximately $194.4 million in total by 2024.
You can read the Persian version of this report here:
بدخشان زیر سلطه مافیا؛ غارت سیستماتیک معادن طلا و فساد ساختاری طالبان