4.8.2. Land disputes

Table of contents

4.8.2. Land disputes

After the Taliban takeover, the de facto authorities started to reclaim government land1643 for infrastructure projects and to recover land they claim was usurped.1644 Within the reference period of this report, the de facto authorities have seized large areas of land reclassified as state property in several provinces across the country, including in Ghor, Maidan Wardak, Takhar, Nuristan, Badghis, Panjshir,1645 Logar1646, Badakhshan,1647 Nangarhar1648 and Kabul provinces,1649 and especially in urban areas.1650 The Taliban’s land reclamation process has been marked by lack of transparency and legal safeguards,1651 with affected landowners often denied the ability to file appeals, present ownership documents,1652 or obtain compensation.1653

The UN Special Rapporteur on human rights stated that land disputes, frequently between different communities or related to fertile land, resources, as well as struggles for power and wealth, ‘have plagued Afghanistan for generations’.1654 Disputes over land ownership involving individual citizens have been a recurrent issue in Afghanistan,1655 and often resurface with each change in power.1656 After the Taliban takeover in 2021, there was another shift in power balance and representation of communities, including at local levels and in the legal system.1657 This led to an increase in land disputes,1658 as many re-erupted1659 across different areas of the country.1660 Land disputes have inter alia involved Pashtun returnees from Pakistan, most of whom are Kuchis (a nomadic pastoralist group), reclaiming land upon return.1661 Disputes between local communities and Kuchis have affected different ethnic groups, including Hazara, Pashtuns, Tajiks, Turkmen, and Uzbeks.1662 However, such disputes have also re-emerged in provinces with a homogenous ethnic composition, often along tribal or clan-based lines.1663 Afghanistan expert Fabrizio Foschini indicated that ‘[a]lmost every Afghan province, if not district, has its own, specific type of land dispute, often dating back some decades’.1664 However, the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Afghanistan also reported in 2025 that, although disputes over land and claims of usurpation occurred across Afghanistan, they disproportionately affected minorities and internally displaced persons.1665 The de facto authorities have reportedly supported Pashtun communities, especially in land conflicts with non-Pashtuns,1666 while local de facto courts and Taliban-controlled commissions have consistently ruled in favour of the Kuchis,1667 sometimes ordering the payment of compensation for alleged land-use losses1668 to the Kuchis who raise these claims.1669

Land conflicts between sedentary Hazara communities and nomadic Kuchi pastoralists trace back to the late 19th century,1670 when Amir Abdur Rahman Khan displaced many Hazaras and redistributed lands to Kuchi tribes.1671 According to an academic research fellow with RWI, ‘[l]and has long been a deeply contested and politicized issue’ in Afghanistan’s Hazarajat region (the central region of the country which has historically been disputed between the Kuchis/local Pashtuns and the Hazara people). Before the Taliban’s return to power in 2021, land conflicts between Hazaras and Kuchis often led to seasonal confrontations.1672 State interventions under previous governments lacked long-term solutions,1673 thus many of these disputes had remained unresolved.1674 Since the Taliban takeover, the land conflict in Hazarajat between Hazara communities and Kuchi has intensified.1675 As ‘a greater number’ of Kuchi nomads, compared to previous years, have moved into Hazarajat1676 and gained broader access to the region,1677 an increase in land disputes was reported.1678 In some provinces, Kuchis have asserted collective ownership over entire villages, basing their claims on historical rights to pasturelands as well as agricultural and residential areas,1679 while many such claims often lack formal documentation.1680 Land claims were also raised against Hazaras in Hazarajat region by ethnic Tajiks.1681

The UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Afghanistan stated that land disputes are handled through informal dispute resolution mechanisms or de facto courts.1682 In a previous report, the same source indicated that many legal disputes in general are resolved through informal dispute resolution processes ‘both because litigants prefer those mechanisms and because judges refer disputes to them’.1683 Due the absence of a clear legal framework for housing, land, and property administration since 2021,1684 along with ambiguity in the enforcement of property laws, in cases of land and property disputes many individuals turn to informal dispute resolution methods,1685 including community councils, such as Shuras1686 and Jirgas.1687 Abdul Ghafoor Rafiey, former director and founder of the Afghanistan Migrants Advice & Support Organization (AMASO) told ACCORD that implementation of certain rules or regulations varies by region, with these differences depending on the specific issue being addressed, such as land grabbing.1688 Women frequently face difficulties obtaining the official documentation, including identity documents and land titles, limiting their ability to prove ownership or defend legal land claims in cases of land disputes.1689 As noted by the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Afghanistan, women seeking resolution through the Taliban court system ‘face intimidation and humiliation’,1690 while community mechanisms are often biased towards women.1691 Information in public reports published by the de facto authorities indicated that in the period 31 October 2024–3 August 2025, at least 109 local conflicts, including land disputes, had been resolved ‘through mediation by local community elders, religious scholars and the de facto authorities’ in several provinces.1692 Regardless of the mechanism to settle land disputes, representatives of minority communities facing such land claims ‘report feeling powerless, distrustful and fearful of the de facto authorities, often referring to their alleged bias or close connections with claimants’.1693 For instance, Sharan noted that Hazaras faced limited prospects for a favourable outcome in legal disputes, including land conflict cases, due to lack of representation.1694

In some cases, threats and violence were employed to enforce land claims,1695 leading to disputes not reaching de facto courts.1696 Other reports have suggested that land disputes often result in forced evictions and displacement especially of minority groups, including Hazaras, and have been facilitated or tolerated by the de facto authorities.1697 In July 2025, Afghan media in exile reported that the de facto authorities forcibly evicted the residents of Rashk village in Panjab District, Bamyan Province – a predominantly Hazara community1698 – after a Taliban court ruled in favour of Kuchi nomads in a decades-old land dispute, which re-emerged after the Taliban takeover. A de facto authorities’ delegation, accompanied by Kuchi tribesmen, reportedly enforced a previously issued 15-day eviction order by removing belongings from houses and locking the properties, in an allegedly ‘biased’ legal process. Residents reportedly accused the de facto authorities of arresting villagers involved in the dispute.1699

Although incidents of violence have reportedly occurred less frequently than during the Islamic Republic,1700 land disputes often result in violence,1701 especially in rural areas.1702 Within the reference period of this report, media sources reported on several incidents of killings and injuries of individuals over land disputes, including in Nangarhar,1703 Takhar,1704 Kapisa,1705 Nuristan,1706 and Uruzgan provinces.1707 These incidents referred to cases of land disputes within1708 and between families.1709 According to Afghan media in exile in a village of Warsaj District, Takhar Province, family members of a local Taliban commander shot a resident and physically assaulted others over a land ownership dispute. The de facto authorities reportedly arrested a relative of the commander, while the other involved remained free and threatened residents against filing complaints.1710 Exile media also reported on a Hazara farmer in Behsud District of Wardak Province being killed by armed Kuchis in July 2025, after attempting to prevent their livestock from entering his farmland.1711 According to Kabul Now, the de facto authorities later detained the suspected perpetrators.1712 In November 2025, a similar killing was reported in Daymirdad District, Wardak Province.1713

  • 1643

    Sabawoon, A. M., Land in Afghanistan: This time, retaking instead of grabbing land?, AAN, 15 December 2023, url

  • 1644

    UN Human Rights Council, Situation of human rights in Afghanistan, 20 February 2025, url, para. 108; Guardian (The), Revealed: the truth behind the Taliban’s brutal Kabul ‘regeneration’ programme, 18 November 2024, url

  • 1645

    Afghanistan International, Confiscated Over 259,000 Acres Of Land In Past Month, Claims Taliban, 8 October 2024, url

  • 1646

    Afghanistan International, Taliban Announce Confiscation Of Vast Tracts Of Land In Logar, 25 August 2025, url; Afghanistan International, Confiscated Over 259,000 Acres Of Land In Past Month, Claims Taliban, 8 October 2024, url

  • 1647

    Hasht-e Subh, Seizure of Public and Private Lands: Taliban Divide the Ishkashim District Market Among Themselves, 3 October 2024, url

  • 1648

    Afghanistan International, Taliban Extend Land Seizures, Taking Over Influential Afghan Leader Township, 22 October 2025, url

  • 1649

    Tolo News, Identification of Nine State-Owned Townships in Four Provinces, 2 November 2025, url; Afghanistan International, Taliban Announce Confiscation Of Vast Tracts Of Land In Logar, 25 August 2025, url; Amu TV, Taliban confiscate 31 hectares of land in Kabul’s Sherpur area, 28 November 2024, url

  • 1650

    UN Human Rights Council, Situation of human rights in Afghanistan, 20 February 2025, url, para. 108

  • 1651

    Khaama Press, Land Commission claims 3.9 million Jeribs of grabbed land reclaimed, 12 May 2025, url; UN Human Rights Council, Situation of human rights in Afghanistan, 20 February 2025, url, para. 108

  • 1652

    Afghanistan International, Taliban Extend Land Seizures, Taking Over Influential Afghan Leader Township, 22 October 2025, url

  • 1653

    UN Human Rights Council, Situation of human rights in Afghanistan, 20 February 2025, url, para. 108

  • 1654

    UN Human Rights Council, Situation of human rights in Afghanistan, 23 February 2024, url, para. 61

  • 1655

    Sabawoon, A. M., Land in Afghanistan: This time, retaking instead of grabbing land?, AAN, 15 December 2023, url

  • 1656

    Sabawoon, A. M., Land in Afghanistan: This time, retaking instead of grabbing land?, AAN, 15 December 2023, url; ACAPS, Afghanistan: Land conflicts and humanitarian action: a conflict sensitivity perspective, 26 July 2023, url, p. 1

  • 1657

    UN Human Rights Council, Situation of human rights in Afghanistan, 23 February 2024, url, para. 61

  • 1658

    IFRC, Emergency Appeal, Operational Strategy, Afghanistan: Population Movement (Returnees), 24 May 2025, url, p. 4; RFE/RL, The Azadi Briefing: Afghanistan Witnesses A Surge In Violence, 20 September 2024, url

  • 1659

    UN Human Rights Council, Situation of human rights in Afghanistan, 20 February 2025, url, para. 106; ACAPS, Afghanistan: Land conflicts and humanitarian action: a conflict sensitivity perspective, 26 July 2023, url, p. 3; Foschini, F., Conflict Management or Retribution? How the Taleban deal with land disputes between Kuchis and local communities, AAN, 22 December 2022, url

  • 1660

    ACAPS, Afghanistan: Land conflicts and humanitarian action: a conflict sensitivity perspective, 26 July 2023, url, p. 3

  • 1661

    Moradi, K., “Throwing Dust in Our Eyes”: Nomadic-Sedentary Land Conflict in Hazarajat under the Taliban and Its Human Rights Impacts, RWI, May 2025, url, pp. 3, 6, 23; Foschini, F., Conflict Management or Retribution? How the Taleban deal with land disputes between Kuchis and local communities, AAN, 22 December 2022, url

  • 1662

    ACAPS, Afghanistan: Land conflicts and humanitarian action: a conflict sensitivity perspective, 26 July 2023, url, p. 3

  • 1663

    Afghan analyst, interview 8–9 June 2023, and email communication, 10 October 2023

  • 1664

    Foschini, F., Conflict Management or Retribution? How the Taleban deal with land disputes between Kuchis and local communities, AAN, 22 December 2022, url

  • 1665

    UN, General Assembly, Situation of human rights in Afghanistan, 8 October 2025, url, para. 85

  • 1666

    International analyst (A), interview 8–9 June 2023, and email communication, 10 October 2023

  • 1667

    Moradi, K., “Throwing Dust in Our Eyes”: Nomadic-Sedentary Land Conflict in Hazarajat under the Taliban and Its Human Rights Impacts, RWI, May 2025, url, pp. 14, 34, 35, 37; ACCORD, Afghanistan: Report on the impact of the Taliban’s information practices and legal policies, particularly on women and girls, February 2025, url, p. 83; Kerr Chiovenda, M., email, 29 November 2025; Foschini, F., Conflict Management or Retribution? How the Taleban deal with land disputes between Kuchis and local communities, AAN, 22 December 2022, url

  • 1669

    Kerr Chiovenda, M., email, 29 November 2025

  • 1670

    Kabul Now, Taliban Evicts Entire Hazara Village in Bamiyan After Ruling in Favor of Nomadic Kuchis, 28 July 2025, url; Moradi, K., “Throwing Dust in Our Eyes”: Nomadic-Sedentary Land Conflict in Hazarajat under the Taliban and Its Human Rights Impacts, RWI, May 2025, url, p. 5

  • 1671

    Moradi, K., “Throwing Dust in Our Eyes”: Nomadic-Sedentary Land Conflict in Hazarajat under the Taliban and Its Human Rights Impacts, RWI, May 2025, url, p. 5; Kerr Chiovenda, M., email, 29 November 2025

  • 1672

    Moradi, K., “Throwing Dust in Our Eyes”: Nomadic-Sedentary Land Conflict in Hazarajat under the Taliban and Its Human Rights Impacts, RWI, May 2025, url, pp. 5–6

  • 1673

    Moradi, K., “Throwing Dust in Our Eyes”: Nomadic-Sedentary Land Conflict in Hazarajat under the Taliban and Its Human Rights Impacts, RWI, May 2025, url, pp. 5–6

  • 1674

    Kabul Now, Taliban Evicts Entire Hazara Village in Bamiyan After Ruling in Favor of Nomadic Kuchis, 28 July 2025, url

  • 1675

    Kabul Now, Armed Kochis Kill Hazara Farmer in Behsud, Renewing Fears of Systematic Violence and Displacement, 29 July 2025, url; Moradi, K., “Throwing Dust in Our Eyes”: Nomadic-Sedentary Land Conflict in Hazarajat under the Taliban and Its Human Rights Impacts, RWI, May 2025, url, p. 6

  • 1676

    Foschini, F., Conflict Management or Retribution? How the Taleban deal with land disputes between Kuchis and local communities, AAN, 22 December 2022, url

  • 1677

    Moradi, K., “Throwing Dust in Our Eyes”: Nomadic-Sedentary Land Conflict in Hazarajat under the Taliban and Its Human Rights Impacts, RWI, May 2025, url, p. 6

  • 1678

    Hasht-e Subh, Sources: Nomads Shoot and Kill Young Hazara Man in Maidan Wardak Province, 30 July 2025, url; Kabul Now, Taliban Evicts Entire Hazara Village in Bamiyan After Ruling in Favor of Nomadic Kuchis, 28 July 2025, url

  • 1679

    Moradi, K., “Throwing Dust in Our Eyes”: Nomadic-Sedentary Land Conflict in Hazarajat under the Taliban and Its Human Rights Impacts, RWI, May 2025, url, p. 6

  • 1680

    Kabul Now, Taliban Evicts Entire Hazara Village in Bamiyan After Ruling in Favor of Nomadic Kuchis, 28 July 2025, url

  • 1681

    Kerr Chiovenda, M., email, 29 November 2025

  • 1682

    UN, General Assembly, Situation of human rights in Afghanistan, 8 October 2025, url, para. 86; Kerr Chiovenda, M., email, 29 November 2025

  • 1683

    UN Security Council, The situation in Afghanistan and its implications for international peace and security, 5 September 2025, url, para. 12

  • 1684

    GPC, Afghanistan: Protection Analysis Update, Update on protracted-crisis and climate-related protection risks trends January - December 2024, January 2025, url, p. 13; Humanitarian Action, Afghanistan: Protection, 19 December 2024, url

  • 1685

    GPC, Afghanistan: Protection Analysis Update, Update on protracted-crisis and climate-related protection risks trends January - December 2024, January 2025, url, p. 13

  • 1686

    ACCORD, Afghanistan: Report on the impact of the Taliban’s information practices and legal policies, particularly on women and girls, February 2025, url, p. 24

  • 1687

    EURAC Research, A traditional code and its consequences: how Pashtunwali affects women and minorities in Afghanistan, 25 June 2025, url

  • 1688

    ACCORD, Afghanistan: Report on the impact of the Taliban’s information practices and legal policies, particularly on women and girls, February 2025, url, p. 26

  • 1689

    UN Human Rights Council, Access to justice and protection for women and girls and the impact of multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination, 16 June 2025, url, para. 48, 66

  • 1690

    UN Human Rights Council, Access to justice and protection for women and girls and the impact of multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination, 16 June 2025, url, para. 48

  • 1691

    Humanitarian Action, Afghanistan: Protection, 19 December 2024, url

  • 1692

    UN Security Council, The situation in Afghanistan and its implications for international peace and security, 5 September 2025, url, para. 14; UN Security Council, The situation in Afghanistan and its implications for international peace and security, 11 June 2025, url, para. 12; UN Security Council, The situation in Afghanistan and its implications for international peace and security, 21 February 2025, url, para. 14

  • 1693

    UN, General Assembly, Situation of human rights in Afghanistan, 8 October 2025, url, para. 86

  • 1694

    Sharan, T., email, 27 November 2025

  • 1695

    UN, General Assembly, Situation of human rights in Afghanistan, 8 October 2025, url, para. 86; Kerr Chiovenda, M., email, 29 November 2025

  • 1696

    UN Human Rights Council, Situation of human rights in Afghanistan, 20 February 2025, url, para. 107

  • 1697

    Moradi, K., “Throwing Dust in Our Eyes”: Nomadic-Sedentary Land Conflict in Hazarajat under the Taliban and Its Human Rights Impacts, RWI, May 2025, url, pp. 4, 13, 49; UN Human Rights Council, Situation of human rights in Afghanistan, 20 February 2025, url, para. 105; Foschini, F., Conflict Management or Retribution? How the Taleban deal with land disputes between Kuchis and local communities, AAN, 22 December 2022, url

  • 1698

    Kabul Now, Taliban Evicts Entire Hazara Village in Bamiyan After Ruling in Favor of Nomadic Kuchis, 28 July 2025, url

  • 1699

    Afghanistan International, Taliban Forcibly Evict Villagers In Bamiyan Following Land Dispute With Nomads, 29 July 2025, url; Kabul Now, Taliban Evicts Entire Hazara Village in Bamiyan After Ruling in Favor of Nomadic Kuchis, 28 July 2025, url

  • 1700

    Foschini, F., The Pastures of Heaven: An update of Kuchi-Hazara disputes as spring approaches, AAN, 24 February 2024, url

  • 1701

    Amu TV, Young man killed in family land dispute in eastern Afghanistan, sources say, 6 May 2025, url; UN, General Assembly, Situation of human rights in Afghanistan, 8 October 2025, url, para. 88

  • 1702

    Amu TV, Young man killed in family land dispute in eastern Afghanistan, sources say, 6 May 2025, url;

  • 1703

    Pajhwok News, 10 killed, 22 injured in Afghanistan last week, 27 July 2025, url; Pajhwok News, 1 killed, 7 wounded over property dispute in Nangarhar, 25 July 2025, url; Amu TV, Young man killed in family land dispute in eastern Afghanistan, sources say, 6 May 2025, url

  • 1704

    Afghanistan International, Violent Land Dispute Involving Taliban Commander Reported In Takhar, 3 November 2025, url

  • 1705

    Pajhwok News, 2 killed, as many wounded in Afghanistan last week, 10 August 2025, url

  • 1706

    Pajhwok News, 6 people killed in Afghanistan last week, 6 July 2025, url

  • 1707

    Pajhwok News, 3 people killed, as many injured in Afghanistan last week, 7 December 2024, url

  • 1708

    Pajhwok News, Land dispute claims 2 lives in Nangarhar, 10 September 2025, url; Pajhwok News, 2 killed, as many wounded in Afghanistan last week, 10 August 2025, url; Pajhwok News, 6 people killed in Afghanistan last week, 6 July 2025, url; Amu TV, Young man killed in family land dispute in eastern Afghanistan, sources say, 6 May 2025, url

  • 1709

    Pajhwok News, 10 killed, 22 injured in Afghanistan last week, 27 July 2025, url; Pajhwok News, 1 killed, 7 wounded over property dispute in Nangarhar, 25 July 2025, url; Pajhwok News, 6 people killed, 4 injured in Afghanistan last week, 5 April 2025, url

  • 1710

    Amu TV, Clash over grazing land in northern Afghanistan injures six, sources say, 4 November 2025, url; Afghanistan International, Violent Land Dispute Involving Taliban Commander Reported In Takhar, 3 November 2025, url

  • 1712

    Kabul Now, Armed Kochis Kill Hazara Farmer in Behsud, Renewing Fears of Systematic Violence and Displacement, 29 July 2025, url

  • 1713

    Hasht-e Subh, Armed Kuchis Shoot a Man Dead in Maidan Wardak Province, 17 November 2025, url