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Justice ministry cracks down on usurped land in Kabul city’s Sherpur area
Afghanistan’s Justice Ministry announced Thursday that after a review of land ownership in Sherpur area in Kabul’s 10th district, the Land Grab Prevention Commission found that 155 acres had been usurped.
According to a statement issued by the ministry, the land belongs to the government and the process of reclaiming it will start in the near future.
Sherpur had during the 20 years of occupation under the US and NATO troops been incorporated into the city’s “Green Zone”, a highly fortified area that housed mostly government officials, NGOs and foreign contractors.
It was also directly linked to Wazir Akbar Khan’s primary “Green Zone”, or diplomatic enclave.
The area however is steeped in history, having been the site of the ill-fated siege of the British cantonment during the second Anglo-Afghan War in 1879.
It reportedly remained largely military land through the years but in September 2003, armed police and bulldozers violently ejected around 250 people from land.
According to the Middle East Institute, the authorities demolished homes to make way for lavish mansions that sprang up over the next few years; plots having been dished out to the then freshly empowered elite and allies of the interim republic government.
Given its close proximity to the city center, the Sherpur land is considered extremely valuable.
In August 2022, Sherpur again made headlines. This time when the United States allegedly took out Ayman al-Zawahiri, the leader of al-Qaeda, in a drone strike.
On Thursday however, the Islamic Emirate said that in accordance with a decree issued by their supreme leader, if land is found to have been usurped then it must be reclaimed “as soon as possible”.
The statement read: “The land, bordered to the east by streets 16, 6, and 15 of Wazir Akbar Khan; to the west by Qassabi Alley; to the north by Wazir Akbar Khan Hill and Shaheed Square; and to the south by Sher Ali Khan Road, has been reviewed by the Technical Committee of the Commission to Prevent Land Seizure and Confiscation, in coordination with Kabul Municipality.”
The Islamic Emirate claimed that no documentation had been provided by occupants to prove private ownership of the parcels of land and instead the area had been developed “arbitrarily and against planned designs.”
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Afghanistan says Pakistani military post destroyed near Spin Boldak
Afghanistan’s Ministry of Defense says a Pakistani military post near Spin Boldak was targeted and destroyed after Pakistani forces opened fire toward Afghanistan.
Ministry spokesperson Enayatullah Khwarazmi said in a post on X that Afghan forces suffered no casualties or damage in the clash.
Khwarazmi also rejected claims made by the Pakistani side about the incident, describing them as “propaganda.”
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Mujahid: Pakistan attacking Afghanistan to evade Mecca Pact responsibilities
He warned that the Islamic Emirate would give an “appropriate response” to what he called the Pakistani military regime’s “bullying.”
Islamic Emirate spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid has accused Pakistan of carrying out attacks on Afghanistan to divert attention from its domestic problems and to evade responsibilities under the “Mecca Pact.”
Speaking at a religious seminary in Kandahar, Mujahid said Pakistan was facing political and economic challenges at home and was using attacks on Afghanistan to shift public attention away from protests and its internal problems.
“Pakistan, by violating the territory of its neighboring Islamic country, wants to divert attention from its failures,” he said.
Mujahid also criticized Pakistan’s political situation, claiming that political space had been restricted and that freedoms guaranteed under the country’s laws were not being allowed.
He said Pakistan’s economic problems had also increased significantly and accused the country of seeking to distract the public from those problems by engaging in conflict with Afghanistan.
Mujahid further accused Pakistan’s military leadership of putting the Pakistani people at risk through what he described as its “false position.”
He warned that the Islamic Emirate would give an “appropriate response” to what he called the Pakistani military regime’s “bullying.”
His remarks followed Pakistani airstrikes on Kandahar, Paktia and Khost provinces on Thursday, which Afghan authorities said killed four civilians.
The strikes came three days after attacks on Kunar and Paktika provinces, in which Afghan authorities said three civilians were killed.
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Kabul rejects U.S. claim that meth seized in Pakistan was of Afghan origin
Balkhi said the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) has imposed an absolute ban on the production, trafficking and use of all types of narcotics in Afghanistan.
Afghanistan’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Abdul Qahar Balkhi has rejected a U.S. claim that 463 kilograms of synthetic drugs seized in Pakistan were of Afghan origin, calling the attribution “unfounded and politically motivated.”
Balkhi said the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad should investigate the origin of the seized drugs in Pakistan rather than attributing them to Afghanistan.
“The attribution by the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad of the synthetic drugs bound for Sri Lanka and intercepted in Pakistan through joint U.S.-Pakistani efforts as ‘Afghan-origin’ is an unfounded and politically motivated allegation,” Balkhi said.
He said the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) has imposed an absolute ban on the production, trafficking and use of all types of narcotics in Afghanistan.
Balkhi also claimed that following the ban in Afghanistan, the cultivation, production and trafficking of narcotics have increased “on the other side of the Durand Line.”
He further argued that Afghanistan does not have the capacity to produce synthetic drugs and said crossing points along the Durand Line have been completely closed to all movement for nearly a year.
His remarks came after the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad said U.S. and Pakistani anti-narcotics authorities had seized 463 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine worth an estimated $21 million and bound for Sri Lanka.
The embassy said the operation led to multiple arrests and highlighted ongoing U.S. cooperation and training with Pakistani authorities to disrupt international drug-trafficking networks.
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