The Taliban’s Ministry of Justice has announced that all land in Mayar Mina Township in Mazar-e-Sharif, covering an area of 300 jeribs, is state-owned property. The township was built in the Qala-e Hajari area of the ninth district of Mazar-e-Sharif.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, 27 Asad, the Taliban Ministry of Justice said a special court had ruled on the ownership of the township’s land after reviewing documents and evidence submitted by the occupants and the commission, examining property records, and obtaining information from relevant government agencies.
According to the statement, the special court ruled that all 300 jeribs of land belonging to Mayar Mina Township are state property and must be returned to the government. The Taliban described the decision as a “Sharia-based ruling.”
Abdul Hakim Sharaee, the Taliban’s Minister of Justice and head of the Commission for the Prevention of Land Grabbing, had previously said that once a court rules that a piece of land is state-owned, the commission is legally and religiously obligated, under the Taliban’s interpretation, to enforce the ruling.
According to the Ministry of Justice statement, the special court has ordered the return of the land in Mayar Mina Township. The statement did not provide further details about the status of the houses and other properties built in the township.
In recent years, the Taliban have declared dozens of townships and thousands of jeribs of land in various Afghan cities, including Kabul, to be state-owned. For land they consider government property, the group uses the term “Emarati” rather than “government-owned.”
In May 2026, the Taliban also published a law concerning state land. Under the law, land in townships that Taliban authorities determine to be “Emarati” may, under certain conditions, be transferred to current occupants or residents in exchange for payment.
The law establishes new regulations governing the distribution, sale, and management of land that the Taliban considers state property. However, the implementation of such decisions has, in some cases, sparked protests from landowners and residents of the affected townships.
Some landowners and residents say they purchased their land and homes through official documents and contracts and consider the Taliban’s transfer of ownership or confiscation of their properties unjust.
Writer:Salima Aryaei
