![Workers pan for gold using traditional methods along the Kokcha River in Badakhshan province, Afghanistan, last September 12. [Omer Abrar/AFP]](/cnmi_st/images/2025/01/10/48757-afganistan-gold-panning-739_416.webp)
KABUL – Al-Qaeda has been targeting impoverished farmers and lucrative mining operations to fund its terrorist activities in Afghanistan as dwindling support chokes off its traditional revenue streams, experts say.
The extremist group's fighters have been collecting money in areas of the country where al-Qaeda still wields influence under the guise of ushr (Islamic tax) and zakat (charitable giving), often at gunpoint.
In northern Afghanistan, al-Qaeda has shifted its focus to mining operations.
Over a two year-period, the group made $195 million from gold mines in the northern provinces of Badakhshan and Takhar, according to a March 2024 Foreign Policy report.
"Local miners operate these gold and emerald mines in Badakhshan via legal agreements with the government," said Badakhshan civil activist Nazim Ahmadi. "Yet armed men show up weekly to demand illegal 'taxes' from the miners."
"There's no justification for these extortion payments," he told Salaam Times.
The situation has grown particularly violent in Takhar province.
"Hundreds of Takhar residents are working in gold mines, and armed individuals collect money from them monthly under the guise of taxes or zakat," Takhar-based civil society activist Nematullah Farahmand said.
"This collection is forced, and if anyone refuses to pay, they are severely beaten by these gunmen," he added.
Some of the extortionists reportedly speak foreign languages.
"They are not part of the current government's security forces but members of al-Qaeda who also have residences in some areas of Takhar province," Farahmand said.
Extortion schemes
"Al-Qaeda employs local individuals to extort money from people under the names of ushr and zakat," Kabul-based Hashmat Ahmadi told Salaam Times.
"These individuals, using the threat of weapons, forcibly collect agricultural products and cash from the people," he said.
Ahmadi noted that "al-Qaeda's influence has severely declined."
"The network has lost credibility among its traditional base in Arab countries and other communities," he said. "As a result, many financial backers have withdrawn their support, cutting off crucial funding streams."
The extortion campaign is deepening Afghanistan's economic crisis, Herat-based political analyst Abdul Qadeer Fakuri told Salaam Times.
"Al-Qaeda is extorting money from society's most vulnerable members under the guise of ushr, zakat and mining fees," he said.
"These farmers and miners work tirelessly to feed their families, only to have a portion of their earnings forcibly taken to fund terrorism."
Al-Qaeda uses the money it collects via deceptive means to purchase weapons and ammunition and support terrorist activities and regional instability, Fakuri said, noting that these actions violate both human and Islamic values.
Afghanistan's mines are being extracted by terrorist groups. This has happened in the past and continues to happen now. But what is the solution? The United States, Germany, Canada, the United Kingdom, India, and other friendly countries of Afghanistan should train Afghan professionals and provide machinery to Afghans so that they can extract their own mines professionally. China, Pakistan, and Iran support terrorist groups. Pakistan and other countries that support terrorists should never be allowed to interfere in Afghanistan's mines.
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Another good point is that, unlike the destruction of homes and facilities in the aforementioned countries, American homeowners can at least get their home insurance, something that was not and is not the case in Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq, Palestine, Libya, etc. Long live the friendship of Afghanistan – the United States, Germany, Canada. Britain is not trustworthy, so we will forget about it.
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As an Afghan, as a Pashtun and as a human being, I express my condolences on the occasion of the fire that has broken out in the forests of Los Angeles, United States. I pray to God that the fire, which is a natural disaster get put out soon. I have seen the videos that have been circulated on social media, especially on X. I have seen precious houses and buildings have been destroyed and razed to the ground in Los Angeles just like those destroyed in Afghanistan, Palestine, Libya, Syria, Iraq... This is really painful. I have seen civilians crying, women crying, elderly people crying. Because they have lost things that they worked hard for for years to obtain, but now in a few minutes they have all been erased by fire. May God reward them abundantly. One thing that pleases me is that unlike the incidents in the above mentioned countries, no people were killed in the fires in the United States. I have only read about two people killed. Although two people are also human beings and every human life has its own value. God Almighty says in His Glorious book, the Holy Quran, "و من احیاها فکانما احیاالناس جمیعا" Translation: "whoever saves the life of one human being, it is as if he saved all of humanity from death." But if we look at the events in the aforementioned countries, the casualties of this fire are very few. May Allah keep other humans, domestic animals including dogs, cats, rabbits that people keep in their homes, and wild animals safe from this disaster. Another good p
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