Fawzia Koofi, former deputy speaker of Afghanistan`s parliament, has accused the Taliban of "plundering Badakhshan`s mines" and destroying the province`s environment.

According to AnsarPress, Koofi made the remarks on Monday, October 27, sharing a written statement accompanied by photos of excavated sites in Badakhshan. She said that non-local Taliban members, under the pretext of gold extraction, are pillaging the province`s natural resources and devastating farmlands belonging to local residents.

Koofi stressed that local Taliban fighters in Badakhshan are being exploited by commanders from other regions, who use them as tools to advance their own interests. She warned that the "plunder of mines" is coming at the cost of environmental destruction and the loss of agricultural livelihoods.

Expressing deep concern over the condition of women and girls in Badakhshan, Koofi said that young girls, deprived of education, are being forced-either through coercion or family poverty-into becoming second or third wives of non-local Taliban members.

She condemned these acts as "an insult to the dignity and honor of the Afghan people" and a blatant example of everyday violence against women.

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Koofi`s statement came on the same day that local sources reported armed clashes between two Taliban commanders - Abdul Rahman Ammar, the former head of Badakhshan`s Department of Mines, and Shafiqullah Hafizi, the current provincial mining chief - in Shahr-e Bozorg District. The fighting, reportedly over control of a gold mine, resulted in the death of at least one member of the Taliban`s Border Battalion.

Analysts say that Koofi`s allegations, coupled with the recent intra-Taliban violence, underscore the deep corruption and internal rivalries within the group, particularly surrounding the exploitation of Badakhshan`s mineral wealth, which has become a major source of unregulated income for Taliban factions.