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Crime wave in Kabul shocks residents

KABUL: A series of armed robberies and kidnappings have shaken the Afghan capital Kabul, embarrassing the ruling Taliban, who pride themselves on reducing crime to an admirable level.

People in the west of the city say an armed gang has begun operating after nightfall, breaking into houses, tying people up and beating them before stealing money and jewellery. They say several people who have resisted have been murdered.

One man described how his brother woke up and called out after hearing intruders. The robbers shot him dead, before making off with just $10 worth of cash and a tape recorder.

In another district in the centre of the city, residents say a gang has been watching people leave the mosque after evening prayers. They said the gang was targeting worshippers who appeared to be well-off and as dusk fell, abducting them on their way home.

While the Information Minister Maulvi Qudratullah Jamal denies there is any truth in the reports, a district police chief has admitted they were very concerned about the thefts. He said in his area alone he had 40 officers patrolling the streets every night.

Armed crime was familiar in the mid-1990s, when various armed factions were fighting over Kabul. But the Taliban, who captured the Afghan capital in 1996, disarmed the population and have since ruled over a much safer city.

Even people who dislike the Taliban admit they have brought law and order. There is a complete ban on civilians owning guns. But people now have started asking where the gangs have got their arms from.

They also wonder how they can operate during the nighttime curfew, when no ordinary citizen is allowed on to the streets.

Taliban supreme leader Mulla Mohammed, who is himself stationed in Kandahar, has told security forces to catch the thieves behind the Sarai Shahzada robbery in Kabul's central money exchange market last week as soon as possible.

The authorities are coordinating with the shopkeepers of the area in searching for a dozen guards appointed in the area who have all mysteriously disappeared after the robberies, prompting suspicions of their involvement.

Authorities set up a commission to purge what it calls undesirable elements from the security services in and around Kabul.

The commission was set up following reports of various thefts in Kabul, especially in Paghman district. But the deputy governor, Maulvi Abdul Waheed, said the culprits of these thefts could not be identified.

Waheed said that anybody found guilty of committing a crime under the guise of being a Taliban would be handed over to the military court.-Internews