Mohaqiq, Balkhabi accused of unrest over Sar-i-Pul coalmine

KABUL member has accused Deputy Chief Executive Mohammad Muhaqiq and lawmaker Mohammad Hassan Sharifi of supporting an armed group involved in the illegal excavation of a coalmine in northern Sar-i-Pul province.

But Sharifi, who is also the member of the Muhaqiq-led Wahdat-i-Islami party, rejected strongly the allegation as illogical and nonsense.

Mohammad Hussain Fahimi, a lawmaker from Sar-i-Pul, province, claimed heavy fighting was underway over the past two weeks between supporters of Muhaqiq and an illegally armed group commander, who in the past had been tasked by Mohaqiq with illegal extraction of coal in the Balkhab district.

Fahimi claimed Mohaqiq had one year back invited Mahdi Mujahid, a former commander of his party, to his home in Kabul and both reached an agreement on the excavation of coalmine. Mohaqiq provided arms and other logistics support to Mujahid.

He said at least 30 people had been killed and injured during the ongoing fighting over the past two weeks.

Fahimi claimed, Syed Mohammad Hassan Sharifi Balkhabi, and Provincial Council Members Mujahidzada and Asadullah Khuram were also complicit in the illegal excavation of coal.

He said income from the state-owned coalmine was divided among Mohammad Muhaqiqi (30 percent) his advisors (30 percent) and 40 percent is given to the contract holing company, which is supported by Balkhabi.

He claimed Sharifi Balkhabi had taken four million Afghanis from the contract holder company in bribe.

Fahimi added: “Mahdi Mujahid became wealthy as a result of his continued support for Muhaqiq but recently a clash of interest between Muhaqiq and Mujahid surfaced and the second deputy chief executive ordered Provincial Council Member Mujahidzada to act against Mahdi and expel him from the coalmine.

Wolesi Jirga speaker Abdul Rauf Ibrahimi said the issue would be investigated by the Wolesi Jirga Commissions.

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