Afghanistan’s Mines Fuel the War Economy |
Recent accounts of Afghanistan’s war driven economy point to an alarming reality. Control over mineral resources has become a means of coercion and financing for violent groups, creating anxiety across neighbouring states and posing a serious threat to regional stability. Rather than serving reconstruction or public welfare, the mining sector under Taliban authority reflects a closed and coercive system shaped by force secrecy and exclusion.
Events in Badakhshan and Takhar illustrate how mining has been turned into an instrument of power accumulation. Instead of contributing to local development, extraction activities are used to secure revenue and tighten political control. Official claims of improved security and economic recovery sharply contradict conditions on the ground, where protests have been met with lethal force, land has been seized from communities, ecosystems have been damaged and links with extremist networks such as al Qaeda and the TTP have reportedly strengthened. Natural wealth under armed domination has thus become a source of repression and instability rather than progress.
Reports indicate that unrest in areas such as Chah Ab in Takhar and Avizhai Pan Mur in Badakhshan began after Taliban backed groups took over local gold mines. Residents protested against dispossession, only to face armed retaliation. Security forces and militias linked to Bashir Haji........