タリバン戦闘員が豪邸暮らし　前副大統領の邸宅を接収　アフガン

【カブールＡＦＰ＝時事】アフガニスタンを制圧したイスラム主義組織タリバンの戦闘員が、敵対する軍閥指導者で逃亡中のアブドルラシド・ドスタム前副大統領（６７）の首都カブールにある豪邸を接収し、住んでいる。（写真はアフガニスタン・カブール市内にある軍閥指導者アブドルラシド・ドスタム前副大統領の邸宅で、温室の中でくつろぐイスラム主義組織タリバンの戦闘員）
　タリバン戦闘員に占拠された邸宅からは、かつての支配層のぜいたくな暮らしぶりが垣間見える。厳格なイスラム主義を掲げるタリバンにとっては、長年にわたる汚職の産物と映る。
　どこまでも続く長い廊下には分厚い緑色のじゅうたんが敷かれ、カラシニコフ自動小銃を抱えた若い戦闘員がソファに体を深く沈めて眠っている。その後ろには大きな水槽が７個並び、外来種の魚が泳いでいる。
　ＡＦＰは見学ツアーに参加して邸宅を実際に見たが、その豪華さは大半の一般アフガン人にとって想像もできないようなものだった。
　大広間には巨大なガラスのシャンデリアがつり下げられ、迷宮のように連なる幾つものラウンジには大きなふかふかのソファが置かれている。トルコ石のタイルが敷き詰められた屋内プール、サウナやトルコ風の蒸し風呂、設備の整ったジムもある。
　広大な邸宅の一角にはガラスの天井に覆われた広さ数百平方メートルの温室があり、熱帯植物に囲まれてタリバン戦闘員がくつろいでいた。温室を見下ろせる中二階にはバーがしつらえられ、夜更かしと強い酒を好むことで知られるドスタム氏の退廃的な嗜好（しこう）を物語っている。
　この邸宅を目下取り仕切るのは、４州にまたがる軍事指揮権を有するカリ・サラフディン・アユービ司令官だ。タリバン新政権でも特に有力な司令官の一人で、カブールが陥落した先月１５日に、指揮下の１５０人を引き連れて入居した。
　だが、アユービ司令官はＡＦＰに対し、自分たちが豪華な生活に慣れることはないと言明。「イスラム教では、ぜいたくな暮らしは望ましくない」と述べ、ぜいたくは「死後の世界」における楽園で得られるものだと付け加えた。
　豪邸の所有者であるドスタム氏は、空挺（くうてい）部隊員や共産主義運動の指導者、軍閥トップ、副大統領を歴任し、紛争で疲弊したアフガニスタンで４０年間生き抜いてきた狡猾（こうかつ）な政治家だ。指揮下の部隊に関連して数々の戦争犯罪が指摘されているが、アシュラフ・ガニ政権は、ドスタム氏の軍事的な知見とタリバンに対する激しい憎しみを政権維持に利用できると期待していた。
　だが、ドスタム氏は拠点を制圧され、ウズベキスタンへ逃れた。同氏は、ガニ政権の信用を失墜させた汚職や横領によって莫大（ばくだい）な利益を得たとみられている。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】

〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2021/09/14-10:35）

Taliban fighters have taken over the glitzy Kabul mansion of one of their fiercest enemies -- the warlord and fugitive ex-vice president Abdul Rashid Dostum.
Now in the hands of rank and file Taliban fighters, the opulent villa has given the austere Islamists a peek into the lives of Afghanistan's former rulers, and they say the luxury is the proceeds of years of endemic corruption.
Along an endless corridor with a thick apple-green carpet, a young fighter sleeps slumped on a sofa, his Kalashnikov rifle resting against him, as exotic fish glide above him in one of seven giant tanks.
The fighter is part of the personal security detail of Qari Salahuddin Ayoubi -- one of the new regime's most powerful commanders -- who installed his company of 150 men in the mansion on August 15, the day Kabul fell.
The luxury AFP saw on a tour of the mansion would be unimaginable for most ordinary Afghans.
Huge glass chandeliers hang in cavernous halls, large soft sofas furnish a maze of lounges and an indoor swimming pool is finished with intricate turquoise tiles.
It even boasts a sauna, a Turkish steam bath and a fully equipped gym.
It is an out of this world experience for the new occupants, who for years sacrificed creature comforts for rebellion -- living on their wits in the plains, valleys and mountains of rural Afghanistan.
But the new head of the household -- now the military commander of four provinces -- makes it clear his men will not get used to the luxury.
Islam never wants us to have a luxurious life, Ayoubi told AFP, adding luxury comes in paradise, the life after death.
- 'The thieves' quarter' -
The mansion's owner, Dostum, is a notorious figure woven into the fabric of Afghanistan's recent history.
A former paratrooper, communist commander, warlord and vice president, he was the very definition of a cunning political survivor who weathered over four decades of conflict in war-torn Afghanistan.
Despite a series of war crimes linked to Dostum's forces, the former Afghan government hoped his military acumen and seething hatred of the Taliban would help them survive.
But his stronghold was overrun and the greying 67-year-old fled across the border to Uzbekistan.
Dostum is widely suspected to have hugely profited from the corruption and embezzlement that discredited the former government.
Several officials illegally took land to build luxurious mansions in one neighbourhood, earning it the nickname Thieves' Quarter among locals.
In one wing of the enormous house, Taliban fighters relaxed in a massive tropical greenhouse of several hundred square metres under a huge glass roof.
That is overlooked by a mezzanine dominated by a dark wood bar -- a testament to the reported decadent tastes of a general renowned for a penchant for late nights and strong liquor.
The Taliban have good reason to hate Dostum.
In 2001, he was accused of killing more than 2,000 fighters -- locking many in containers in the middle of the desert where they suffocated under a scorching sun.
But Commander Ayoubi rejected any desire for revenge.
If other people who had been oppressed like us came here, you would not have seen the chairs and tables. They might have destroyed them, he said.
But the new regime will not allow such luxury to be built with ill-gotten gains in the future, he said.
We are on the side of the poor, he says, as dozens of visitors wait patiently in the corridor, idly watching the indifferent fish.