Mining operations in Shora Dara, Mangal Bai, Qaq Dara, and Fazel Dara in Takhar province have been suspended after clashes and rising tensions between local residents and the Taliban.
In Shora Dara, gold extraction had reportedly continued for years without the consent of the community. For generations, people here relied on traditional, manual gold panning to survive.
Instead of regulating and protecting these livelihoods, large-scale mining was allowed to expand without clear agreements, environmental safeguards or local approval.
Protests halt mining across four areas
When residents protested over land use, water damage and exclusion from decisions, the dispute quickly turned into open confrontation.
Chinese mining personnel were later evacuated from Chah Ab to Taloqan for security reasons, underlining how serious the situation has become.
A governance failure, not a local dispute
The Taliban’s response has been reactive rather than responsible. Local authorities sent a delegation led by the deputy governor and promised small fixes.
Vehicles were sent, an excavator was deployed, and roads were graveled. Yet the main problems remain. Clean drinking water is still scarce. Farmland has been damaged. Roads and basic services are poor.
For many residents, these gestures feel cosmetic. More importantly, there is still no clear national mining policy that ensures transparency, environmental protection, and fair sharing of revenue.
Communities living on resource-rich land see no hospitals, no schools, and no clean water systems. They see only disruption and conflict. This is why anger keeps returning, even after temporary calm.
From Badakhshan to Takhar, a pattern is forming
What is happening in Takhar is not an isolated case. Since August 2021, the Taliban have increasingly relied on mining gold, gemstones, coal, and other minerals as a key source of income.
In Badakhshan, similar projects have already sparked repeated protests and violent clashes. The model is the same. Control is centralized. Mines are guarded by force. Local communities are excluded. In practice, Afghanistan’s mines are starting to look like part of a shadow economy rather than a national development plan.
Afghanistan’s mineral wealth could have helped rebuild the country. Instead, in places like Takhar, it is becoming another source of instability. Without transparency, community consent, and responsible governance, mining will keep fueling protests and resentment.
The Taliban may control the territory, but the growing unrest raises a harder question: who is Afghanistan’s mineral wealth really serving?
Read more: The Two-Nation Theory Has Risen from the Bay of Bengal
