Only a few hours' drive from the
Afghan capital Kabul is an area renowned for some of the world's brightest and
most valuable rubies. But this wealth is being plundered by thieves, corrupt
officials and the Taliban, as the BBC's Bilal Sarwary discovers.
The sun was about to rise over the Hindu Kush peaks surrounding Kabul when we
hit the road to Jegdalek. It is a mountainous area noted for its rugged beauty in Kabul's Surobi
district, some 96km (60 miles) south-east of the capital. There are opium crops here, but it is ruby mines that have earned Jegdalek
such renown. It is seen as a part of the country which could hold the key to many of
Afghanistan's pressing economic woes.
"Jegdalek mines have been worked for more than 500 years," one tribal elder
told me. "They are known for their high-grade blood-red rubies, which were popular
with royalty across the world."
But the great and the good willing to pay magnificent prices no longer
purchase Jegdalek rubies. Tribal elders say that instead the mines are being
plundered by thieves, corrupt officials and the Taliban.
The situation has become so worrying, officials say, that President Hamid
Karzai has become seriously concerned. "He is aware that we can easily become [like certain] African countries,
where mineral worth is a curse, not a blessing, and could be used to further
destabilise the country," a presidential official told the BBC.
There is supposed to be a ban on ruby mining because the government views the
mines as national wealth. Despite government denials, local traders in Jegdalek
bazaar openly display newly-mined gems.
Jegdalek is not a wealthy area, sandwiched between the snowy passes of
Afghanistan's Tora Bora mountains on one side and Pakistan's Parachinar valley
on another. There are mostly mud houses and ruins - its few roads are in a poor condition
and locals say that there is no electricity or drinking water. Like much of rural Afghanistan, the government's diktats are of little
consequence here, which is why the ruby mining ban is so flagrantly flouted.
Officials admitted to the BBC that the government was not in control of
dozens of mines for precious and semi-precious stones around the country. "The Taliban are greedy and they lure locals to mine the area
unprofessionally," says Wasil Khan, a disgruntled resident of a village near the
mines. Unskilled miners dig huge, deep holes, fill them up with gunpowder and then
set them on fire. Such blasts have damaged the mines as well as the wealth that
lies underneath."
The hills of the area are covered with hundreds of white trenches, leading
the way to the mines themselves.
Mr Khan says that the mines rarely produce the red
rubies they were once famous for - more often than not semi-transparent pink
sapphires are the only gems found, even at depths of 150m (492ft).
But those who are illegally mining think otherwise, and the government
clearly contends that much of value still lies deep within the soil here.
Once a major base of mujahideen fighters during the Soviet invasion of the
country, local officials say that two-thirds of Jegdalek is now controlled by
the insurgents. "The Taliban tell the locals to work here," police officer Mohammed Talib -
who accompanied us on our tour of the region - told us. "They tell them: 'We will give you 25% of the profit on the rubies you bring.
The best rubies are on Taliban's side of the mountain'."
Dr Talib said that every Friday the Taliban organises a ruby bazaar near
Jegdalek in the small village of Soar Naw - a remote and mountainous area
covered with deeply forested valleys. Here they sell rubies which are then smuggled to Dubai, Pakistan and
Thailand. Just two months ago, the Taliban reportedly smuggled a ruby out of the area
which sold for $600,000 (£383,000) in Dubai. While there is no way of
substantiating this claim, similar stories abound.
The government admits that it
is only in control of a few of the mines
"The income from rubies is used to buy weapons and pay fighters. If we can
somehow plug this source, it will be a big blow to Taliban finances," an
intelligence officer accompanying the police party said.
Police say that other criminal groups - working under the name of the Taliban
- are exploiting the area's wealth and denuding the landscape solely for cash
returns.
The police officer took me inside one of the mines. It is a vertical, narrow
trench surrounded by thick marble walls about 4m (13ft) long with a hole in the
surface. Yet despite this compelling evidence of recent mining, police insist
the ban is being enforced. As I was trying to look deeper into the mines, a policeman came running up to
the commander and said something in his ear. "We will have to wind up," the officer said. "My men have spotted some
suspicious people on one of the hills. They could be locals, but I wouldn't like
to take a chance." As we prepared to make a hasty exit, nearly a dozen Taliban fighters armed
with rocket-propelled grenades and heavy machine guns took positions in the
nearby hills, less than a kilometre away from our position.
Back in Kabul, mining official Tamim Asey admits that the government is
losing millions of dollars every year as powerful warlords, tribal chieftains
and corrupt officials collude to rob the nation of its natural resources. He says that the priority is to ensure that revenue from the mines - which
for years has been the source of wealth for different power brokers - goes to
the government and people of Afghanistan.
"It is unfortunate indeed that the country's assets are not benefiting people
who need it most," Mr Asey lamented.
-BBC News
To see more information on a nearly 20 year old mining project in Afghanistan that does benifit local Afghans, click here.
