22 Residential Townships In Balkh Declared State-Owned, Covering 85,000 Jeribs Of Land

(MENAFN- Khaama Press) The Taliban commission responsible for preventing the seizure of state-owned land in Balkh province has declared 22 residential townships state property, covering approximately 85,000 jeribs of land.

The commission said the townships are located in Mazar-i-Sharif and districts across Balkh. It also said authorities had prevented the alleged seizure of 217,300 jeribs of pastureland across nine districts. The commission did not identify the 22 townships or provide their precise locations.

The announcement follows a series of Taliban decisions to classify residential developments and other properties in Balkh as state-owned. On September 23, the Taliban Ministry of Justice said more than 2,657 jeribs of land associated with Diplomatic Township in the Dasht-e Shadian area near Mazar-i-Sharif had been declared state property following a review of ownership documents. The Taliban had also previously classified Mayar Mina township and around 600 jeribs of land associated with the Khatam al-Anbiya project as state property.

Meanwhile, in 25 September, the administration had prohibited property sales and construction in 38 residential townships in Balkh. Reports stated that land in 13 of those developments, including Khalid bin Walid Township, had been declared state property, while cases involving other townships remained under review.

The Taliban Ministry of Justice said in September that land in 49 residential townships across 14 Afghanistan provinces had been classified wholly or partly as state property during the previous four years.

The decisions have raised concerns among some property owners and residents whose land or homes have been affected. They say they purchased properties using official documents and contracts and consider changes to their ownership rights unfair. The Taliban use the term“emirate-owned” for land they classify as belonging to their administration, but the commission has not published details of the 22 newly designated townships that would allow the individual cases to be independently assessed.

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