Afghanistan Times
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KABUL: The members of parliament express concern of the situation of natural reserves in the provinces of Helmand and Badakhshan, saying falling of these reserves to Taliban would open the door for Pakistani geologists to demine the reserves with no problems.
Helmand has the mines of gold and some gems in the Khanshin district that are used by Pakistani experts after the district fell to Taliban, according to representatives of Helmand in parliament.
They said the materials are smuggled to abroad via Pakistan.
There are some mines in Nangarhar province in the east mostly under Taliban control.
Representatives of Badakhshan in parliament said Tuesday that the lapis lazuli mine in the district of Keran Wa Monjan that just fell to Taliban on Monday. The parliamentarians said that the natural reserve is used by Pakistani experts and taken to abroad.
The Integrity Watch Afghanistan said some companies asked for legal extraction of these mines, but the government’s disapproval encouraged illegal armed groups to extract them.
Ministry of mines and petroleum admits the issues, saying most of the mines are controlled by illegal armed groups and local powerful individuals.
