Taliban Says Enforcing Court Rulings on Seized Land Is a Legal Duty
The Taliban administration has stressed the implementation of court rulings on seized land, as criticism continues over the takeover of some private properties and the declaration of certain properties as “state-owned” land.
Mawlawi Abdul Hakim Shari, acting minister of justice in the Taliban administration, said at a coordination meeting with founders and officials of charity foundations in Afghanistan on Tuesday, 20 Asad, that the process of handling land-grab cases by the administration’s commission to prevent land seizure is being carried out on the basis of documents and evidence, and that its laws are applied equally to everyone.
He also claimed that identifying and recovering seized land is a legal issue, and linking it to ethnicity, religion and language is “illogical.”
The remarks come as the Taliban administration had previously taken over the Omid Sabz housing complex in western Kabul and declared its land “state-owned,” a move that drew protests from the complex’s owner.
Mohammad Nabi Khalili, the owner of the Omid Sabz housing complex, said the land belonged to him legally on the basis of sharia deeds, official ownership documents, clearance from the relevant authorities and a legal construction permit. He stressed that the Taliban administration’s special court decision declaring the land state-owned requires review and a thorough legal examination.
Earlier, reports had also been published about some private lands being declared “government property” and people’s land being seized by the Taliban administration. Omid Sabz, located in western Kabul, is one of the cases that has received wide attention in disputes over property ownership during the Taliban administration.
