Arrest of Residents of a Village in Bamyan: ‘Existence of Historical Monuments in the Field’

Residents of the Pai Kotal Tarbalaq village in Punjab district of Bamyan province said that special force units stationed in the district have placed the residents under siege from yesterday evening until early afternoon, with heavy military presence in the area. According to them, this was done for the purpose of illegal digging in a pilgrimage known as “Khak-e Bibi.”

“Dozens of these forces, equipped with light and heavy weapons and various types of military intermediaries, entered the area at 5 p.m. and by rounding men in a mosque, they confiscated their mobile phones with threats and violence and locked the gates of the houses to prevent women from leaving,” Gholam Mohammadi, a resident of the village, told Sattagydia this morning.

During this time, he said, no one had the right to leave the village, and the antennas of the telecommunication networks were also off.

District officials were not aware of the incident until this morning, according to the resident of the village of Pye Kotel. He said that around 11 a.m. this morning, a person who is said to be the brother of Bamyan governor Abdullah Sarhadi showed up and told the people to “not hesitate to do everything they can.”

Although the Bamyan chief of police has been unaware of the incident and the provincial administration called it a rumor and untruth, the provincial Directorate of Information and Culture confirmed a delegation to investigate the existence of historical monuments in the area.

The delegation consists of representatives from the Ministries of Information and Culture and Defense and the General Directorate of Intelligence, Mawlwi Safiullah Rayed told Sattagydia.

Mr. Rayed added that the delegation had set up after receiving reports of historical sites and the arbitrary excavation of antiquities smuggling gangs in the area, and had traveled to Punjab to investigate the matter.

Although he did not say anything about whether excavations have taken place in the site, he emphasized that people from the historical and archaeological buildings department of the Ministry of Information and Culture are present in the area to transfer it to the national museum if it is discovered.

Although “Khak Bibi” is a pilgrimage for the residents of the site, there have been rumors about the existence of antiquities among the residents of the area from the past. Local residents say that this is why they used to take turns patrolling the area at night, as advised by some local authorities.