Afghanistan: Information on the treatment of the Shamali people from the province of Charikar and on whether people who interact regularly with the Shamali people through business activities would face difficulties with the Taleban
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 1 July 1998 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | AFG29657.E |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Afghanistan: Information on the treatment of the Shamali people from the province of Charikar and on whether people who interact regularly with the Shamali people through business activities would face difficulties with the Taleban, 1 July 1998, AFG29657.E, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6ad978.html [accessed 28 May 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
Sources, such as the Danish Immigration Service report on Afghanistan (July 1998, 21) and Agence France Press (AFP) (14 Dec. 1997), consulted by the Research Directorate stated that Shamali is a valley north of Kabul. The area is also known as the Kohdaman region (Voice of the Islamic Republic of Iran, 20 July 1997).
The following information comes from a July 1998 report produce by the Danish Immigration Service and entitled Report on the Fact-Finding Mission to Afghanistan, 1 to 29 November 1997 (also available on the Internet at http://www.udlst.dk/start.htm). The mission was carried out by the Danish Refugee Council and the Danish Immigration Service together. The report refers to the "Shamali" as "Shomali".
The document discuss the evacuation of the people of the Shomali,
With specific regard to the situation in the Shomali Valley, the UNSMA explained that the evacuation of the population was seen as a measure to prevent disturbances and infiltration by agents. The Valley lies very close to the present front line to the north of Kabul and in previous Taliban advances the population, who are mainly Tajiks and thus potential Jamiat-i-Islami (Massoud) supporters, had in fact caused disturbances and contributed to the temporary repelling of the Taliban. The evacuees are not in fact living in camps but scattered among relatives and friends, in empty public buildings and anywhere else they can find room. The Taliban will still not allow them to return to their homes, but do occasionally permit individual members of families to visit their home village to see if all is well (21).
It is reported that "displaced persons in Kabul are mainly Tajiks from the Shomali Valley..." (ibid., 24). During the course of the fighting to the north of Kabul in 1997, "some of those living in the Shomali valley are also known to have headed north, either for the Panjshir valley or for other northern provinces" (ibid., 28). Agence France Press (AFP) reported that four men from the Shomali valley, who were accused of taking bribe from the opposition, were beaten, then hung in Kabul (13 Oct. 1997).
Two sources (details below), the Director of the Centre For Afghanistan Studies at the University of Nebraska and a professor of Anthropology at Boston University, corroborated the information on the 1997 expulsion of many residents of the Shamali valley to the Kabul region because of the heavy fighting taking place in that frontline area. Estimates on the number of people displaced varies widely according to the sources.
The sources also corroborated that people from the Shamali valley are mainly Tajiks. Residents of the valley and the Charikar region are often suspected of being informers for the Northern Alliance because of the military situation with the Northern Alliance.
The director indicated that being labelled a communist does not carry the stigma it did during the Najibullah regime. The Taleban do not give importance to whether a person was a communist. For example, many of the current fighter pilots for the Taleban are former members of the Communist Party. The director says that the Taleban are more concerned with the war efforts than with past ideologies.
The sources are:
The director of the Centre For Afghanistan Studies (CAS) at the University of Nebraska in Omaha. The CAS publishes the Afghanistan Studies Journal. The director lived in Afghanistan between 1964 and 1974 where he was in charge of the Fullbright Foundation. He currently travels to Afghanistan regularly as a consultant on Afghanistan for the United Nations and the Department of State of the United States. The director was in Afghanistan in the Spring of 1998 where he travelled around the Kabul and northern area of the country as part of a United Nations team (7 July 1998).
The professor of Anthropology at Boston University has written two books on Afghanistan and has published several articles in academic review such as Current History (10 July 1998).
This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of sources consulted in researching this Information Request.
References
Agence France Presse (AFP). 14 December 1997. "Taliban, Massoud Troops Clash North of Afghan Capital." (NEXIS)
_____. 13 October 1997. "Taliban Publicly Hang Four in Afghan Capital." (NEXIS)
Danish Immigration Service. July 1998. Report on the Fact-Finding Mission to Afghanistan, 1 to 29 November 1997. (http://www.udlst.dk/start.htm).
Director, Centre For Afghanistan Studies (CAS), University of Nebraska, Ohama. 7 July 1998. Telephone interview.
Professor, Department of Anthropology, Boston University. 10 July 1998. Telephone interview.
Voice of the Islamic Republic of Iran [Tehran, in Pashto]. "Anti-Taleban Spokesman on Military Gains North of Kabul." (NEXIS)
