Afghans claim abuse by security forces in Chak
KABUL // When Afghan forces finally decided to sweep the Taliban from Chak, residents welcomed the prospect of reconstruction and stability after years of being ignored by the central government.
The sentiments were short-lived.
In place of the insurgent's shadow administration, which dominated the district for years, the army, police, and a militia drawn from the local community have imposed security over the area using harsh methods including intimidation, beatings, and torture, according to a number of residents.
Their predicament is similar to other areas of the country where many Afghans find themselves caught up in a war that is increasingly violent following the withdrawal of most foreign troops last year.
"Afghan forces aren't [like] they were in the past. Now they are brutal, powerful, and do not care about orders they receive from their headquarters," said Rafiullah Rahmati, an NGO worker.
Chak is situated deep in the mountains of Maidan Wardak province, which borders Kabul. Most residents earn a living by farming and selling their produce elsewhere.
The Taliban re-emerged in the district around 2005 and went on to become the main local authority. For several years they ran their own court system, but kept a relatively low profile for fear of being targeted by air strikes.
Although US ground forces ventured into the area for operations and patrols, the government had almost no writ over the population.
The insurgents were local men at first but as the war developed, militants from Waziristan in Pakistan joined them.
After previous forays into the area, the Afghan army began to push hard into Chak early last year and was met by bombs buried in the road that runs through the valley and ambushes by small groups of militants.
Low-level resistance continued for months, but there were never any major pitched battles. Instead, a source close to the insurgents said the Taliban went into hiding and in January the security forces felt confident enough to publicly claim they had control of the district.
But villagers interviewed by The National have suggested this is only half the story. Many claimed to have witnessed abuses by soldiers.
"The style of governance in Kabul and the provinces is not the same. In districts, anyone who is a big warlord or a brutal man is the boss. He decides everything. There is no law and no justice," said a Chak resident who asked to remain anonymous.
He named the main perpetrator of abuses in Chak as Lieutenant Colonel Mohammed Dawood, a US-trained commander of the 4th Infantry Brigade, 6th Battalion. Several others also described him as a man who incited fear among the population.
In one instance, villagers in the area of Ambokhak were rounded up by Lt Col Dawood and taken to the site of an insurgent bombing where they were beaten as a warning not to allow other attacks. Lt Col Dawood announced this would be a routine measure in the event of similar incidents elsewhere.
Residents also claim a number of men have had their genitals mutilated by the army as punishment for alleged connections with the insurgency. This has been impossible to verify as the alleged victims are too embarrassed to talk about their injuries.
Lt Col Dawood comes from the district of Paghman in Kabul province and is believed to have served in the mujahideen party Ittihad-e-Islami during the resistance against the Soviets in the 1980s. He was later in the Northern Alliance movement that fought the Taliban.
A member of Chak's Islamic Council described him as "a gangster" and "a criminal". Calls to the ministry of defence regarding these accusations went unanswered.