Afghanistan: Land-Grabbing by Powerful Rife in Afghanistan - Watchdog

Nov 19, 2014 | Reuters
View Original

Corruption and weak regulation have allowed nearly a quarter of a million hectares of land to be seized in Afghanistan over the last decade, often by powerful officials, a watchdog said Wednesday.

Efforts to establish effective government are still struggling more than 13 years after the U.S.-led coalition set out to rebuild the country after toppling the Taliban regime in the wake of the 2001 terrorist attacks on American cities.

Less than 34 percent of Afghanistan's land has been surveyed and legally registered, leaving the rest vulnerable to land-grabs, the Independent Joint Anti-Corruption Monitoring and Evaluation Committee said in a report.