RAWA, April 3, 2008
Forced Taking and Seizure of the Properties of the People of Sar-e-Pul
Forceful seizure of the properties of the people is a crime that has been committed by most of the warlords of Afghanistan in the last three decades.
Reporter: Bahram Roshangar
Lack of the prosecution and investigation of war crimes and human violation cases has encouraged the criminals to return to their previous crimes with no fear of the law or being put on trial.On December 12, 2007 powerful commanders of General Dostum’s Junbish-e-Milli Islami named Commander Kamal and Haji Payinda Mohammad grabbed about 500 acres of land of the people of Zayee tribe of the Said Abad District, Sar-e-Pul province. The actual owners who were about 500 families were forced to move out of the area.
Commander Kamal and his brother Haji Payinda Mohammad are two famous commanders of the army of Sar-e-Pul who have serviced under the command of Dostum for more than 20 years and are counted as key figures of the Junbish-e-Milli Islami Party. Presently, Payinda is the representative of the people of Sar-e-Pul in the parliament and Kamal has traveled out of Afghanistan. Noorullah, a resident of the Said Abad District said that because of the crimes of Commander Kamal he had to leave his place and move to Mazar-e-Sharif. He said: “On December 12, 2007 Akhtar Mohammad, my brother, and Mohammad Hashim, my cousin; were shot by a Kalashnikov in a trap. They have gone to Pakistan for treatment. Our family was forced out of Sar-e-Pul and all our lands were seized.”In answer to why they had not gone to the government he said: “Which government?! The former commanders indirectly rule Sar-e-Pul. Without Commander Kamal’s permission the government authorities can’t even go to the bathroom.”
Haji Payinda's 17-year old son named Najib, along with two of his friends, gang-raped a 12-year old girl of the sixth grade on February 18, 2008. The government confirmed the case true and the media also published the matter.
Bahram Roshangar, March 24, 2008
While taking out a number of applications from a folder he had in his hand, he said that he had gone to the offices of government officials in Sar-e-Pul and Jowzja; to the Attorney General’s office, Interior Ministry, the Human Rights Commission, UNAMA, P.R.T several times, but said because commanders like Faqir Mohammad Jowzjani were the heads of all these offices, no action has been taken against the land grabbers and no one has listened to him.
Faqir Mohammad Jowzjani was a former military commander of General Dostum’s party and is now the deputy of the authorities of Jowzjan. Jowzjani told the reporter: “I have no idea about the seizure of lands in Sar-e-Pul. On 12th and 13th of December the administrator of the Jowzjan Hospital informed me about two people who had been shot in Sar-e-Pul by unknown men. That night I was dinning at Commander Kamal’s and a delegation had also come from Kabul.” Jowzjani added: “Ishaq Zayee people claim that the land which is around thousand acres and actually belongs to the government is theirs.”
The deputy of the governor of Shibirghan said that the Ishaq Zayee people have the license of the lands but didn’t say if they had been grabbed. The Ishaq Zayees said that Faqir Mohammad Jowzjani himself held the same position as Kamal in the past and is a relative of his. They said he defended Kamal in this act but Jowzjani denied the claims against him. Jowzjani also called himself a defender and implementer of law and called Kamal a kind-hearted and proud man who sacrificially played a valuable part in the resistance (the word “resistance” is mainly used for the war against the Taliban).
The growing power of former warlords in Karzai’s government has led people to mistrust the government and America and its allies’ support to the government is seen equal to supporting the warlords.Abdul Wasey Khan, who at a time was one of the most important landlords of the Said Abad District and then became a victim of Commander Kamal and Payinda Mohammad’s land grabbing, has moved from Sar-e-Pul. He said: “From the very first days when General Dostum took power in Shibirghan and Sar-e-Pul hundreds of acres of the land of the people of Ishaq Zayee have been seized by the commanders of the Junbish Party and this is still happening today.”
While hitting his hands on the floor and talking loudly, Wasey continued: “This year they took two hundred acres of my land and my home. What shall I do? Karzai’s government is a government of warlords and America is also a supporter of warlords. When a high-post delegation from the Attorney General’s office came to Sar-e-Pul to examine the matter of the seizure of land, he could not act against the commanders. What solution do we have?”
According to Khan he had reported this case to the media several times and is waiting day and night for a government free of warlords so that he could get back his rights.
In the start of Karzai’s rule there was a lot of hope that law would return to Afghanistan and that there would be justice. Karzai promised this after he took power and during the elections campaign for presidency, Hamid Karzai’s team repeatedly preached that they would fight against warlords. Unfortunately in the last six years, despite the approval of the Action Plan on Peace, Reconciliation and Justice in Afghanistan, no action regarding this matter has been taken. On the contrary of proofs and promises made by the president, many accused of human rights violations have main governmental bodies and have committed the same old crimes in order to get mythical treasures.
Haji Payinda Mohammad, the representative of the people of Sar-e-Pul in the parliament, told Kileed: “The case of the lands of the Ishaq Zayees is not something hidden. President Karzai himself knows about it. The claims of the Ishaq Zayees are completely groundless. Not even 10 meter square of land has been seized in Sar-e-Pul and no one has killed any of their men.”
Payinda Mohammad continued: “Some fugitives who left this country when it was in a bad state came back after security and law returned here. Out of grudge for the political figures that resisted the Taliban and in order to ruin their reputation, they are making this up.” Payinda also pointed to the matter of the conviction of his son for raping a young girl, making it look like a conspiracy of his enemies against him. He rejected his son rape case and said that the rapist is actually Nizamuddin and had included the name of his son to instigate his enemies. His 17-year old son named Najib, along with two of his friends, gang-raped a 12-year old girl of the sixth grade on February 18, 2008. The government confirmed the case true and the media also published the matter.
Mirwais a resident of Shibirghan said about the matter of land grabbing: “The matter of seizure of the properties of people is crystal-clear. For the sake of land, Haji Payinda Khan has killed several people. When General Dostum ruled here, whoever Haji Payinda killed would be put in a ground. No one had the permission nor dared to pick up the body and whoever went near he would be laid beside the dead body and punished severely as well.” Because he is a resident of Shibirghan and doesn’t directly know the commanders, he doesn’t know the people killed either and things he has heard are all rumors from the streets.
A person who is a resident of Said Abad of Sar-e-Pul just on the condition that the media would not expose his name said: “The people who Haji Payinda has killed from the Ishaq Zayees are Nadir Khan, Amanullah Khan, Atta Mohammad Khan, Mirza Mohammad Khan, Baz Mohammad Khan, Naeem Khan, Ans Khan and Jamal Khan. They were killed in terrible ways. Their dead bodies were not buried for days until the dogs ate them. Their bones were buried in a pit by some virtue seeker with the permission of Haji Payinda.” He added that among the named, Atta Mohammad Khan was a former officer in the army of Mohammad Daud Khan. He was killed by Haji Payinda. Under the command of Pyainda his body was tied with a rope to a car and he was dragged all over the roads of Said Abad in front of all the people.
