A commander is "growing" on the Tajik-Afghan border, but it is not clear whom he belongs to - the Taliban*, Al-Qaeda* or the Haqqani Network*
Author: Fakhriddin Kholbek,
Sputnik Tajikistan
According to intelligence reports, Mawlavi Najibullah Haqqani, known as Mawlavi Najib Raghi, is a dangerous, suspicious, and uncontrollable figure who even the "Taliban" do not know how to attitude with him.
His influence and independence are simple - money. Najib Raghi walks on gold because his group has been reaping the huge benefits of Raghs gold for years, supporting the foreign fighters of Ansarullah * and the Islamic Party of Uzbekistan * in the district, most of whom are Tajiks and Uzbeks. It was the fighters of these two groups, who were the backbone of Najib forces when they joined the Taliban.
Raghestan is bordered by the Shurabad jamaat in the Shamsuddin Shahin district of Khatlon Province, Tajikistan. Rovinj Valley The district ends on the border with Tajikistan and the river of the same name flows into the river of Panj.
War instead of lessons
Mawlavi Najib, a Tajik, was born in the village of Patir in the Raghistan district. He is about 45 years old now. His father’s name was Sahibnazar and his mother was a genuine Raghi Tajik, but he was raised by his stepmother, who is said to be a "naqil" Pashtun from Afghani Street of Faizabad, the capital of Badakhshan.
During the First Resistance (1996-2001), when the war in Afghanistan began and the schools were closed, his father sent him to Pakistan for study. In Pakistan, he entered the Haqqani Academy of Sciences, known as the "University of Jihad," and became associated with al-Qaeda and the Haqqani Network.
According to Sputnik Tajikistan's source, who knows Mawlavi Najib well, instead of studying religion, he learned the lessons of war, fought in Kunar and Helmand as an "Al-Qaeda" soldier, and during the rule of Hamid Karzai secretly back to Raghs.
"In 2015, when the Taliban raised up in Badakhshan, the Americans had a plan, to build a local police force in every district and to provide them with monetary and military facilities. Amanullah Peyman's brother, the Afghanistan parliament's member (2005-2015), was called Hayatullah and was the head of the National security service in Raghestan. He told Najib, "You go to the mountain; I will get some equipment and money from the government. They made a deal. Najib went to the mountains with 5-6 people and joined Taliban," - said the source.
Mawlavi Najib's group reached 50-60 people in a short time. Based on previous contacts, he contacted Al-Qaeda and the Haqqani Network, which provided him with financial and military support.
The Sponsor
Mawlavi Najib was apparently forced to join the opposition by the Afghan government itself. Not long after, his front became stronger. Foreign terrorists - Tajiks and Uzbeks, who took refuge in the Dahanae Sholeh valley of Raghistan, also joined his group. In the beginning, Najib was based only in the valley of the Dahanae Sholeh. Now, in addition to this valley, he has bases in two other points of Raghistan - Ravinjav, and Zirindav.
"There were about 80 Tajik warlords who lived with their families in Dahanae Sholeh. After the fall of Ghani's government, 77 of them moved to the Imam Sahib district in Kunduz province. They belong to the Ansarullah organization, whose leader is someone nicknamed Abu Ja'far and the general leader of them is Mawlawi Ibrahim. All foreigners have nicknames here. In 2020, a government plane shot down a Tajik commander. From then on, they took nicknames for themselves and did not allow anybody to take their pictures. No one understands whether they are Tajiks or Uzbeks, because they speak good Dari," - the source said.
Earlier, Ustad Atta Mohammad Noor, the leader of the Jamiat-e-Islami Afghanistan, had published a list of foreign terrorists in Raghestan, which included Abu Ja'far, a military official, 10 other members of Ansarullah, and two members of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan.
According to the list, Haji Forqan, a Kazakh national, a member of the East Turkestan Islamic Movement, commander-in-chief of foreign terrorists, his deputies, Salman from Ansarullah, and Qari Ali from Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan.
According to this list, the commander of "Al-Qaeda" fighters, a person nicknamed Mu'tasim Billah, known as Mawlavi Ibrahim, the same Tajik citizen mentioned above, is also present in Raghestan district and has a base.
Sputnik Tajikistan's source says members of terrorist organizations in Raghestan are taking enjoy of the support of Mawlavi Najib, who in turn may be grateful to Ragestan security chief Hayatullah Peyman for coming to power.
Gold trader
However, what adds to his power, and still does, is the vast gold reserves of Raghestan. When Mawlavi Najib gained military power, sat on the vast treasures of the Raghs gold.
Before him, the benefits went to Hayatullah Peyman and other officials in the region, who now may be deeply remorseful for lifting Mawlavi Najib to the mountains of power. Until the arrival of the "Taliban", Peyman's family controlled the gold reserves of Ravinjav and Lashkarja - their hometown. Since then, when Mavlavi Najib gained power, he controlled only the gold reserves of Ravinjav. Now he owns all the deposits of Raghs.
"He got "khums" from people who mined gold. "Khums" is one part of five "gold". A "gold" is 4, 58 grams. People extract gold and give one-fifth of it to Najib. Apart from collecting "khums" from the people, he also has a few gold workshops, which income goes entirely to his pocket," - said the source.
Mawlavi Najib, meanwhile, is not the only Taliban commander to extract expensive mines from the Pamir's breasts. Qari Fasihuddin, the current Chief of Staff of the Islamic Emirate, also climbed the ladder of power when he took under control the azure reserves and trade of Jurm and Karonu Munjan districts.
These commanders, all of whom are affiliated with the Haqqani Network, generally hold Badakhshan’s natural resources. Gold, azure, and other precious stones from Badakhshan are transported to Pakistan via Panjshir and Kabul. People in Panjshir and Kabul, who are involved in this business, are also members of the Haqqani Network.
The treasuries of Badakhshan have always created power. All these years, they strengthened the "Taliban", and during the jihad and resistance, Ahmad Shah Massoud covered the basic expenses of the wars and the budget of his territory from these resources too.
"Khums" - the plague of life
After the fall of Kabul to the Taliban, Mawlavi Najib left his family and most of his forces in Raghs, went to the capital with 50 bodyguards, and is reportedly now under house arrest. The reason is that he did not pay "khums" for 6-7 years to Emirate, which is estimated at $6.5 million.
He was active in the territory under the influence of the "Taliban", of course, he had to pay khums to the Islamic Emirate. On the other hand, this figure also unravels the potential of Raghs' gold reserves and the income of Najib. As soon as the "khums" was not paid, the dispute between him and Mawlavi Amanuddin, the former governor of Badakhshan, escalated to the point where a military conflict between them in Kabul was imminent.
"Before the fall of Panjshir, Najib's soldiers beat one of Amanuddin's commanders named Qadir Tirgaran, who was taken to hospital. In response, Amanuddin's fighters severely beat Najib's driver, who was a Tajik citizen. Immediately, a gun was fired, but Qari Fasihuddin made peace between them," the source said.
There is also a report that after pressures for "khums" Mawlavi Najib became angry. He left for Panjshir to join the Resistance Front but was returned by the Taliban leaders from Khairkhaneh - the northern gate of Kabul.
Dangerous and suspicious
But Najib's problem is not only the "khums" of Raghs. The Taliban has other doubts and sees him as a dangerous and suspicious person. In the past, for example, he defied the Emirate's order in several ceasefires, questioning his honesty and appearing the possibility of his connection to ISIL.
Without informing the Taliban in Raghs - the districts of Raghistan, Yavan, and Kohistan - he distributed 1,500 weapons to the people of the area and he was asked, "Where and with what money did he get them?" In 15 KamAZ, he transferred weapons and ammunition, even the fuel of the former ANA brigade in Badakhshan, to his bases in Raghs, which, it is not known, who ordered him to do so.
"He has so much money. It is not surprising that he bought about half of the weapons in Badakhshan. This person owns the best cars. Most of them are Japanese «Hilux»-es and American «Ford» -s . He rides a new black Ford himself. After the fall of the Republic until now, he has transferred all the American weapons found in the Faizabad market, such as m4, to the Raghs. Three people are still responsible for these purchases. The Taliban must be wondering what all this is about," said Sputnik Tajikistan's source.
On the other hand, the Badakhshan "Taliban" are whispering to each other that if Mawlavi Najib comes to Badakhshan, he will probably raise the ISIL flag. That's why he is not allowed to come to Badakhshan.
"His story has also been heard from Qari Isa, one of the relatives of Qari Fasihuddin. Until now, the Taliban commanders lived on their own. They did not know and did not respect the laws. That is why they are worried about Mawlavi Najib. His quarrels with Mawlavi Amanuddin could also create a crisis in Badakhshan," the source said.
At the same time, it seems that Mawlavi Najib did not win the field in opposition to Mawlavi Amanuddin. The last was removed from the post of Badakhshan governor, later appointed deputy commander of a garrison in Mazar-e-Sharif, and finally commander of the Taliban Ministry of Defense air force. Mawlavi Najib was once appointed commander of the ministry's protection brigade but was soon fired.
"His supporters are the Haqqanies, who now control the Ministry of Interior and the Directorate of Security. If in the previous government the Ministry of Defense played the leading role, now is the Ministry of Interior. The minister is Sirajuddin Haqqani, the leader of the Haqqani Network, which supports all foreign terrorist organizations in Afghanistan," - Sputnik Tajikistan's source said.
What will happen to Raghi?
If the influential Haqqani network directs its ally to the leadership of Badakhshan, the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), especially Tajikistan will face a greater security threat.
Who knows what adventures Mawlavi Najib would create in the way of wealth and power? But more importantly, an ambitious and uncontrollable fighter who is at the same time rich and powerful is also dangerous to the "Taliban", which did not allow him to leave Kabul and is practically locked in his home.
* This organization is under UN sanctions due to terrorist activities.
