Afghanistan

Ex-minister Mahmoud Karzai prevented from traveling to UAE

Multiple sources confirmed to Amu that the Taliban prevented Mahmoud Karzai, the former Minister of Urban Development and the brother of former president Hamid Karzai, from traveling to the UAE on Sunday afternoon, Nov.6.

The sources who do not want to be named in this report said that after several hours, Karzai was still being held at a guesthouse at Kabul Airport and under the supervision of the Taliban’s Ministry of Justice.

Mahmoud Karzai is one of the main shareholders of Aino Mena township in Kandahar.

For several years now, he has been embroiled in a legal dispute over share of ownership with Hamed Helmandi, another shareholder of “Aino Mena” settlement and Ashraf Ghani’s former adviser on agriculture and livestock affairs.

Sources said that after Mahmoud Karzai’s return to Afghanistan almost two weeks ago, meetings were held between him and Hamed Helmandi in Kandahar, but apparently the two did not reach an agreement over the dispute.

Informed sources told Amu that the Taliban’s Ministry of Justice had asked Karzai to guarantee the resolution of the legal problem between him and Helmandi.

A Taliban spokesman, Bilal Karimi, said in a tweet that Mahmoud Karzai has been banned from traveling abroad over legal issues.

This comes as former president Hamid Karzai is also not allowed to travel since the return of the Taliban despite several attempts.