BAGHLAN (SW): A number of civil society activists in Baghlan told Salam Watandar that a local Hezb-e-Islami commander has been extorting hundreds of thousands of afghanis monthly from Karkar and Duodkash mines in Baghlan province.
According to them, the failure of the government in providing security has caused the commander to extort money from Baghlan mines.
Shir Mohammad Muradi, a civil society activist, said that the commander of Hezb-e-Islami has been extorting five hundred thousand AFN monthly from Karkar coal mine in Baghlan with the excuse of providing security to them. According to him, the Afghan Coal Company has also dismissed its security guards, and now pays the commander of Hezb-e-Islami.
Abdul Fatah Atayee, a member of Baghlan civil society association, said that before the Hezb-e-Islami joined the peace process, this commander of Hezb-e-Islami had looted all the expensive equipment of these mines.
These civil society activists added that they have shared this information with the governor of the province, but no action has been taken so far.
Baghlan Provincial Council also confirmed the presence of armed gunmen around the mines, however, it said the men do not interfere in the mining work.
Safdar Mohseni, chairman of the Baghlan Provincial Council, said that most of the equipment of the Karkar coal mine had been seized by this commander before the Hezb-e-Islami leader Gulbadin Hekmatyar joined the peace process.
The officials at the Afghan Coal Company in Baghlan and its workers did not want to talk about this issue, however, Abdul Hai Nemati, the governor of Baghlan said he has not received any complaint against the commander of the Hezb-e-Islami receiving extortion money from the mines yet.
Mirwais Jahanyar, the commander of Hezb-e-Islami, who is accused of extorting money and looting equipment of Karkar coal mine, has also rejected all of these allegations against him. He said that all the equipment of this coal mine has been confiscated by the Afghan Coal Company.
“We do not have any interventions in mines, and after the government’s operation, all equipment was seized by the government and confiscated by the Afghan Coal Company. We were living in the mountains at that time where the equipment was not of any use for us” said Mirwais Jahanyar.
ENDS
