RASC News Agency: Reports from Badghis province in western Afghanistan indicate that some farmers from the pistachio-growing region in the province are expressing dissatisfaction with the actions of the Taliban. Ghulam Mahmood, a farmer from Badghis province, told RASC News Agency on Saturday, April 20th, that Taliban-affiliated individuals have taken control of the entire pistachio region, depriving all Badghis farmers of access to pistachio cultivation and harvest.
These statements come in the context of Badghis province’s pistachio, recognized globally as one of Afghanistan’s most esteemed products. Ghulam Mahmood adds that under the Republic, the Taliban or their affiliates had an inconsistent role in the cultivation and harvesting of pistachios in Badghis, yet the farmers played an active role. However, now, the farmers no longer have any role in the area.
Another farmer from Badghis province, speaking on condition of anonymity, told RASC News Agency that some farmers who went to the pistachio region for cultivation and harvest were threatened with death by Taliban members. He adds that under these circumstances, the Taliban have taken over all affairs and eliminated the role and status of other community members. Meanwhile, a resident of the pistachio region in Badghis told RASC News Agency that the Taliban have leased the region to their own farmers.
He explains that the Taliban generate annual income from the pistachio regions of Badghis. According to him, this approach by the Taliban has restricted many farmers and diminished their role in this region. On the other hand, Jamal Naseri, a university professor, told RASC News Agency that if the Taliban continue to operate in the pistachio region of Badghis in this way, they are committing injustices against the rights of many farmers in those areas.
He added that the Taliban must treat all members of society equally and cease ethnic and racial discrimination to gain both domestic and international legitimacy. According to him, people long for a government that provides proper welfare, not one where their daily bread is earned through suffering and where they cannot raise their voices for their rights. He states that Afghanistan governments have always pursued self-interest and tribalism and are generally unaccepting of any individual or ethnic group other than their own.
Nevertheless, Ramazan Bilalzada, a civil society activist in Badghis province, told RASC News Agency that, according to local rumors, the income from the pistachio region in Badghis goes to the Haqqani Network within the Taliban. He continues that the pistachio region in Badghis province is an economic powerhouse and could potentially generate substantial revenues, similar to the country’s customs income.
Taliban officials in Badghis province have not commented on this matter to RASC News Agency.
