Taliban Extortion in Abdullah Khil District Under the Pretext of Building a Health Center
Several local residents from the Abdullah Khil Valley, speaking to IntelMedium, report that the Taliban, through their affiliated individuals, announced today in Abdullah Khil District that people must contribute money to build a health center. It is said that this center is planned to be constructed at a cost of 1 million Afghanis in Abdullah Khil District, but the amount will be collected equally from the residents of both Abdullah Khil and Abshar districts.
According to the announced decision, every married individual must pay 190 Afghanis, while those who have received food aid from the World Food Program (WFP) are required to pay 500 Afghanis. Residents state that this money is being collected forcibly, with no documentation, official plans, or guarantees of transparency in its use.
One resident told IntelMedium: “Half of the people were imprisoned and later released by paying money. Now that they have no other way to extract money, they are using the construction of a clinic as an excuse. This is extortion, not service.”
Another resident said: “There are already two active health centers in Abdullah Khil and Abshar, one in Tangkhui and one in Abshar itself. There is no urgent need for a new center. Taking money from people in this way is just adding economic pressure.”
Another local added: “If you’re married or have received aid, you have to pay. People don’t even have enough for daily bread, but they are forced to borrow money to pay this. No receipts are given, and there’s no documentation.”
A fourth resident said: “Everything is verbal. They don’t show any plans; they’ve just said you must pay. People are afraid to oppose because they’ve seen the consequences.”
Abdullah Khil District is one of the vulnerable areas of Panjshir province, which has been under severe security, economic, and social pressures for the past three years since the fall of the republic. Due to its role in resistance, this district has always been of particular concern to the Taliban and faced severe crackdowns.
Local residents say that at various times, the Taliban have pressured them through arbitrary arrests, extortion in exchange for releasing prisoners, direct family threats, confiscation of property, forced fines, and demands for money under religious or social pretexts.
In many cases, individuals have been arrested without a warrant, solely due to family relations or previous involvement in the former regime, and their families were forced to pay cash for their release. Additionally, there have been reports of forced contributions from humanitarian aid, pressure on local businesses, and demands for money for public projects.
Now, according to local sources, the Taliban are attempting to collect more money from the poor and distressed people of Abdullah Khil and Abshar under the guise of building a health center, with no documentation, specific plan, or oversight authority.
Residents say this action continues the same past experiences, where the appearance has changed, but the essence remains the same—imposing costs on the helpless public in the absence of accountability and transparency.