Workers and local residents in the Shayash area of Arghangkhah district, Badakhshan, have protested against companies operating under contracts to extract gold in the area, accusing them of preventing local miners from continuing their traditional work.
The protest began around noon on Thursday, August 20, and was still continuing, according to local residents.
Residents said they had previously extracted gold manually and earned their livelihoods from small-scale mining. They alleged that companies operating under Taliban-issued contracts had now prevented them from continuing the activity, including through the use of armed personnel.
Videos from the area show dozens of workers gathered in protest, holding mining tools and confronting the companies operating in the gold-mining area.
The contracting companies reportedly maintain that they hold official licenses to extract gold in the area and have therefore stopped local residents from carrying out mining without authorization.
The dispute has reportedly escalated, with several vehicles belonging to the companies damaged and windows of some vehicles smashed during the protests.
The competing claims could not immediately be independently verified, while Taliban authorities had not publicly commented on the demonstrations or the reported damage to vehicles.
The dispute highlights continuing tensions over control of Afghanistan’s mineral resources, particularly in northern provinces where local communities have historically depended on small-scale mining for their livelihoods.
Badakhshan has previously witnessed disputes over mining operations and the allocation of contracts, with similar tensions reported in other mineral-rich areas, including Takhar.
The latest confrontation in Arghangkhah therefore raises broader questions about how local communities are being incorporated into Afghanistan’s emerging mining economy, particularly when commercial contracts restrict traditional livelihoods that residents have depended on for years.
