Afghanistan Times
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KABUL – A shocking investigation has revealed that the Taliban’s aggressive redevelopment programme in Kabul has displaced thousands of residents, with vulnerable communities bearing the brunt of the destruction. Since taking power three years ago, the Taliban have razed over 1.56 sq km (385 acres) of the city—an area equivalent to more than 220 football fields—forcing families from their homes under harrowing conditions.
The findings, compiled by an international coalition of journalists and human rights groups, uncover a grim pattern of brutality. Entire neighborhoods, often home to impoverished or minority communities such as Hazaras and Tajiks, have been destroyed. In Kabul’s District 13, predominantly inhabited by Hazaras, thousands have been rendered homeless. Witnesses report demolitions so sudden that homes were torn down with people still inside, including children. In one settlement, a four-year-old and a 15-year-old died during the chaos of eviction.
Residents describe desperate scenes of mayhem and despair. One survivor from District 22 recounted: “Women, children, and the elderly begged for the demolitions to stop until we could find shelter, but no one listened.” Many families, now homeless, live in makeshift shelters of plastic and scrap, with little to eat and no access to basic amenities.
The Taliban claim the demolitions are part of infrastructure projects, such as road widening, or efforts to reclaim “stolen” land. However, the investigation, led by the Centre for Information Resilience’s Afghan Witness project, suggests ethnic targeting and disregard for the lives of the displaced. Of six heavily impacted districts, three housed Hazara communities, and two were Tajik-majority areas.
Women, already marginalized under Taliban rule, are especially vulnerable. Denied access to municipal offices without a male guardian, many female-led households have no way to seek compensation for their losses. One widow, now homeless, earns just $3 a day cleaning houses to support her family.
Human rights groups warn the demolitions exacerbate Afghanistan’s dire humanitarian crisis. The UN recently reported that the country’s economy has “collapsed,” with 6.3 million internally displaced people and widespread food insecurity. For the thousands displaced by the Taliban’s regeneration drive, survival has become an unrelenting struggle.
Despite growing international condemnation, the Taliban have remained silent on the findings, continuing their destruction under the guise of modernization. The true cost, however, is borne by Kabul’s most vulnerable—thousands of whom now face an uncertain future in the ruins of their city.
