Can Afghanistan Sort Out Its Cross-Border Water Issues?
Can Afghanistan Sort Out Its Cross-Border Water Issues?
With a vast, empty desert as a backdrop, the militants recorded the execution of Khan Wali on video. As someone held a camera, the others encircled the condemned man to read out his sentence. “This is not brutality — this is justice,” declared one of the executioners, who sported a black turban and a shaggy beard. “I swear to God that killing him with an 82-mm mortar is not enough. But the rest of our mujahedin would not agree on my recommendation — to kill him in a way that all can take part in the act.”
And so it was decided to shoot Khan Wali with the 82-mm mortar. They forced him to kneel 36 m away from the portable cannon, a type often used in small battles in the war-torn country. A militant positioned behind the weapon then set it off; a massive thumping sound was followed by celebratory cries of Allahu akbar — God is great. “Be careful, don’t get any blood on your clothes,” said one voice as the other men, after jubilantly hugging one another, rushed to poke at Khan Wali’s flesh splattered on the ground. “I enjoyed this very much,” said one.
What was Khan Wali’s crime? He was protecting one of Afghanistan’s most important resources: water. Khan Wali led a 60-man semiofficial militia tasked with defending the Machalgho dam in eastern Paktia province. Already two years behind schedule because of security concerns, the dam would irrigate about 16,000 hectares of land and produce 800 KW of electricity once completed. The government had pledged that if Khan Wali held his ground for two months, he and his men would receive weapons and cash. But Khan Wali lasted only 20 days into the mission.