Residents of Faizabad, the capital of Badakhshan province, have expressed deep concern over a significant increase in nighttime thefts, stating their lives and property are at risk. According to them, several burglaries of homes and food stalls have occurred across the city in the past two weeks.
Locals attribute the rise in crime directly to spreading poverty and unemployment. They say some young people have turned to theft due to a lack of job opportunities and an inability to provide for their families. In one instance, residents caught a thief and handed him over to Taliban forces.
One Faizabad resident noted that thieves often target small stalls where the total value of goods is only between 5,000 and 10,000 AFN. These thefts strike at the livelihoods of the poorest families, intensifying concerns about the future.
Additionally, there are reports of women being scammed out of their gold jewelry by criminals using plastic stones purported to be diamonds. Residents are reluctant to share further details with the media, fearing reprisals from the Taliban, who they say dismiss such reports as a "conspiracy" against them.
This situation unfolds against a backdrop of widespread illegal mining and smuggling in Badakhshan, particularly of gold, from which Taliban officials and their affiliates are alleged to profit.
Recently, Foreign Policy magazine, citing a report by a London-based risk analysis firm, alleged that the Taliban give 25% of the revenue from gold mines in Badakhshan and Takhar provinces to the al-Qaeda network. According to the report, al-Qaeda's share amounted to $194.4 million from early 2022 until the report's publication.
The report further claims the Taliban generate about $25 million per month from these gold mines, with the revenue being distributed between Sirajuddin Haqqani's faction in Kabul and Hibatullah Akhundzada's faction in Kandahar for sharing with al-Qaeda. While ordinary people turn to petty theft out of poverty, these allegations raise serious questions about the Taliban's management of Afghanistan's natural resources.
Source: Local Media
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