Taliban authorities in the western province of Herat have seized hundreds of rickshaws from city streets in recent days as part of a campaign to regulate traffic, local sources said.
Taliban officials say the move is aimed at easing congestion and improving urban order, but rickshaw owners and drivers warned it could leave many families without a source of income in a city already grappling with high unemployment.
Traffic police have been impounding rickshaws operating in restricted areas of central Herat, regardless of whether the vehicles have permits, residents said. The vehicles are being removed from major roads and crowded intersections.
“There is no alternative work,” said Abdullah, a rickshaw owner in Herat. “Most of these drivers are young people who finished school and could not find jobs. If the rickshaws are taken away, they will be completely unemployed.”
Some residents said rickshaws play an important role in Herat’s transport system, particularly for short distances and low-income passengers, and called on the Taliban to allow licensed vehicles to continue operating.
“Rickshaws help people move around the city easily,” said Aminullah, a Herat resident. “The traffic department should set a limit and allow a certain number to operate legally, instead of banning them outright.”
Urban transport in Afghanistan’s cities has long suffered from a lack of clear regulation and planning. Critics say ad hoc decisions by the Taliban, without providing alternative livelihoods, risk worsening economic pressure on hundreds of families and could turn traffic management into a broader social problem.
