SHARANA (PAN): Taliban insurgents have been forcing residents into paying them usher and zakat in the provincial capital Sharan and districts of southeastern Paktika province, residents allege.
A Mata Khan district resident, Gul Badshah, told Pajhwok Afghan News the Taliban collected one-10th part of the total wheat yield from farmers in the area.
He said some growers complained their wheat harvests could hardly meet family’s needs, but still they had to give usher to the Taliban and as well as the prayer leader.
Badshah alleged Taliban had threatened farmers against denying them usher from their wheat harvest.
A farmer from the provincial capital’s Salai area, Karim Khan, also confirmed the Taliban sought usher from farmers in the area.
“I have a 14-member family. I paid the imam usher and now if I pay the same to the Taliban what my family will eat,” he asked.
Another nearby resident, Haji Samandar, said people willingly paid usher to the Taliban. However, he said the Taliban should not use force in the collection.
He said the Taliban had distributed leaflets to residents of all villages near the provincial capital to give them usher.
A Taliban commander, who wished not to be named, confirmed they collected usher from farmers, but denied any force had been used. He promised to look into complaints of forced collections.
Provincial police chief Dawlat Khan Zadran expressed his unawareness about the issue, but said usher was the right of imams and underprivileged families.
He said if the Taliban forced people into paying them zakat and usher, security forces would take action against them.
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