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Mayors Claim Local Officials Involve in Land Grabbing
A number of mayors of the provinces have warned that some local officials are cooperating with powerful people in land grabbing; citing most of lands have been grabbed by land mafias and government officials.
They emphasized that land grabbing is the biggest challenge against the implementation of their plans.
“Nearly, 20 thousand acres of lands have been grabbed form Herat municipality. Local authorities are cooperating with land grabbers,” said Farhad Neyayesh, Herat mayor.
This comes as President Ghani has also said that land grabbing reaches its new peak as lands worth billions of dollars grabbed by powerful and land mafia groups increase activities amid the current situation in the country.
President’s special representative for reforms and good governance stressed on increase of mayors revenues.
“There will be no urban life, until mayors do not have independence in their work,” said Ahmad Zia Masoud, President special envoy for reforms.
In last 14 years, a large chunk of land has been illegally grabbed, mostly by powerful people at the behest of government, and no action has been initiated against them.
Land grabbing has emerged as the most ominous phenomenon in Afghanistan in recent years.
“Weak and inconsistent land management, endemic corruption and insecurity have permitted opportunistic land grabs by powerful elites, which local populations refer to as the ‘land mafia,’” says a report by UN Environment Programme (UNEP).
“Thus far, the government has demonstrated little capacity or willingness to address land grabbing in a systematic way,” adds the report.
The practice of land grabbing has become worryingly rampant especially in rural areas where warlords continue to yield considerable clout.
A few years ago, Mayor in Baghlan province accused the local warlords of issuing threats to pressure municipal officials to fraudulently prepare ownership documents for the lands they had already grabbed.
“A large chunk of land has been usurped by influence-peddling power lords, and no steps have been taken by the government to wrest back the usurped land,” says Najeeb Mehmood, political analyst and Lecturer at Kabul University.
“The phenomenon of land grab has assumed alarming proportions in last one decade, mainly because the usurpers enjoy the patronage of senior government figures.”
In recent years, a number of ministers, provincial governors, mayors, and local power lords have been accused of grabbing land illegally, but none of them has been prosecuted so far.
A parliament member says it is important to disclose the names of high-profile people involved in it. “The report has not mentioned names of senior government ministers involved in land grabbing, which is baffling”.
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Justice in light of Sharia applies equally to everyone: Deputy PM
Mawlavi Abdul Kabir, the political deputy prime minister, said Wednesday in a meeting with a number of elders, scholars and youths of the Hazara ethnic group in Kabul that justice in light of Islamic Sharia is applied equally to everyone.
The deputy PM’s office said in a statement that Kabir stressed that discrimination and prejudice have no place in the Islamic system, but the main goal is to serve the people.
“There is no place for ethnic, sectarian and linguistic prejudices and hypocrisy in Afghanistan. All Afghans should work together for the construction, development and prosperity of Afghanistan,” the statement read.
At the gathering, elders and scholars of the Hazara community demanded resolutions regarding their legal cases and other problems and assured the IEA of comprehensive cooperation with the Islamic system, the statement added.
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IED explosion in Badakhshan leaves 8 dead and wounded
Eight security force members were killed and wounded in an IED explosion in Badakhshan province on Wednesday morning, officials confirmed.
The Ministry of Interior said three policemen died and five others were wounded in the explosion.
Abdul Mateen Qani, the spokesman of the Ministry of Interior Affairs, said: “Unfortunately, at around 11:00 AM today, a sticky mine (magnetic IED) that was already embedded in a motorcycle exploded in the Jawozon area of Faizabad city, Badakhshan province.”
According to Qani the device detonated while a convoy of police was traveling through the area. Police had been carrying out a poppy clearing operation.
Police are investigating the incident, Qani said.
So far, no group or individual has claimed responsibility for the explosion.
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Khurasan beats Istaqlal 1-0 in ACL; Sorkh Poshan thrash Sarsabz Yashlar 4-1
Khurasan Faryab defeated Istiqlal Kabul 1-0 in the 35th match of Afghanistan Champions League (ACL) in Kabul on Tuesday, while Sorkh Poshan Khafi thrashed Sarsabz Yashlar 4-1 in the 36th match of the tournament on the same day.
Khurasan’s only goal against Istiqlal Kabul was scored by Farid Ahmad – who was declared man of the match.
In the second match of the day, Sorkh Poshan Khafi’s four goals were scored by Habibullah Hotak and Omid Rajabi.
Khurasan’s Habibullah Hotak received the man of the match award.
Wednesday’s matches will see Abu Muslim Farah FC take on Adalat Farah FC at 1 PM, while Maiwand FC will play Jawanan Wahedi FC at 3:30 PM.
The matches are broadcast live on Ariana Television.
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