11.03.2008 - Source: US Department of State

Tangi: Governor of Nangarhar gave returning refugees from Pakistan title to land; protests by ethnic Kuchis who claimed that the land was theirs ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2007") [ID 24073]

"Governor Sherzai of Nangarhar gave returning refugees from Pakistan who had settled in Tangi, Nangarhar, title to the land. The governor had made a verbal commitment in 2006 to give land to the returned refugees, but ethnic Kuchis protested, claiming that the land was theirs. The Tangi settlement has a strong community structure and now receives government and international community assistance for health, education, water, and shelter."

Document(s): Open document

11.03.2008 - Source: US Department of State

Wardak Province: Clashes between Hazaras and Kuchis ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2007") [ID 24143]

"Ethnic Hazaras continued to prevent some Kuchi nomads from returning to traditional grazing lands in the central highlands, in part because of allegations that the Kuchis were pro-Taliban and thus complicit in the massacres of Hazaras in the 1990s. During the year there were clashes between Hazaras and Kuchis in Wardak Province."

Document(s): Open document

15.07.2004 - Source: Refugees International

The Kuchis, nearly all of whom are Pashtuns or Baluch, reportedly the most destitute, least regarded, and least attended group in the Afghan population ("Kuchi Nomads: Displaced and Destitute in Afghanistan") [#24078],  [ID 1594]

17.12.2003 - Source: Refugees International

Report on the Kuchis, the largest vulnerable population in Afghanistan ("Forgotten People: The Kuchis of Afghanistan") [#18262],  [ID 1595]

"Since the fall of the Taliban in 2001, the lives of most Afghans, at least those in the northern two-thirds of the country, have improved. But the Kuchis have not shared in the progress. In the south, Kuchis lost most of their animals due to a severe drought from 1998 to 2002. Pastures and water sources in the drought stricken areas still have not recovered. In the northwest, Uzbeks and Tajiks resent the presence of Kuchis, and have forced them to flee their lands. Many ended up in dismal displaced person camps near Herat or Kandahar or in dangerous and isolated refugee camps in Pakistan. Kuchis who have livestock are often unable to drive their flocks to their traditional summer grazing pastures in the central highlands. On a visit in June 2003, RI encountered few Kuchis in the highlands, and the local Hazaras were hostile to the Kuchis due to association with the hated Taliban. In some areas, landmines hinder access to grazing land.

Thus, the problems faced by the Kuchis are long-term and multi-faceted. A return to nomadic life will require rebuilding herds, renewing water sources, and improving relationships with other ethnic groups. Years of residence in refugee and displaced camps may have persuaded some Kuchis that a sedentary life is preferable to their former livelihood. Most Kuchis RI has spoken to, however, indicate a desire to return to nomadic herding. Since much of Afghanistan is suitable only for seasonal grazing, the ecological niche for nomadic herding still seems to exist."

Document(s): Open document

24.04.2003 - Source: Institute for War and Peace Reporting

Northern provinces: Former Kuchi lands converted to poppy growing ("Kuchis Losing Their Way") [#12219],  [ID 1596]

"The official added that in some cases former Kuchi lands in Jowzjan and other northwestern provinces have been converted to poppy growing, and that there is general opposition to the nomads from locals who want their region to be only one ethnicity - Uzbek and Turkmen.

The Taleban’s good relations with the Kuchis - both are ethnically Pashtun - has complicated matters.

Under the Taleban, some Kuchis returned to provinces that had been battlefields during the war against the Soviets and subsequent civil conflict. Locals in those areas had converted the nomads’ traditional pasturelands to farming, but the latter felt they had the right to allow their animals to graze on the crops.

In northern Kabul, the Taleban encouraged the Kuchis to let their animals eat trees and tall grasses to remove hiding places for their opponents.

The Kuchis protest that they are not Taleban or al-Qaeda. “We just want to graze our animals on our lands,” Hamza told IWPR."

Document(s): Open document

24.04.2003 - Source: Institute for War and Peace Reporting

Kuchi’s legal right to pasturelands updated ("Kuchis Losing Their Way") [#12219],  [ID 1597]

"The Kuchi’s legal right to pasturelands was originally set out in the 1964 constitution. President Karzai’s council of ministers updated the law about four months ago, specifying jail terms from 10 days to six months and fines of 10 to 120 US dollars for anyone converting pastures to agricultural lands.

Babrikzai said all the provinces have been notified about the law, and officials in relevant ministries and nongovernmental organisations have been told to implement it.

But the Kuchi’s principal leader, Hashmat Ghani Ahmadzai, told IWPR that the legislation is not being enforced.

“The Kuchis are not allowed to use their own pastures, or have been threatened at [illegal] checkpoints on the way from Kabul,” he said. “ I have discussed the problems of the Kuchis with (senior government officials) all of whom have promised to help, but they are unable to control some of the local commanders.”

Ahmadzai said the government should appoint a special police force to protect the Kuchis or allow them to carry their own weapons."

Document(s): Open document

07.03.2003 - Source: Danish Immigration Service

DIS: Difficult position for Kuchis ("The Political, Security and Human Rights Situation in Afghanistan: Report on fact-finding mission to Kabul and Mazar-i-Sharif, Afghanistan and Islamabad, Pakistan; 22 September - 5 October 2002") [#11326],  [ID 1598]

"Several sources also said that the Kuchis make up a group currently in a difficult position. On the one hand they are being used as a political tool, because they are suspected of being affiliated with the Taliban, and accordingly they have been driven away from the traditional pastures for their cattle. And on the other, many Kuchis have lost their herds and consequently their means of subsistence due to the drought."

Document(s): Open document

03.2003 - Source: Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit

Facing The Agricultural Squeeze on the Case of the Niazi Kuchis ("Land Rights in Crisis: Restoring Tenure Security in Afghanistan (by Liz Alden Wily)") [#13567],  [ID 1599]

"Seven tents of Kuchis spent October 2002 on the rain-fed lands of Bidmoskh village in Hujamari district in Ghazni province. This was not their normal summer grazing area, which was in Wardak, but they had been refused entry to Wardak by the Hazara people living there. This was less problematic for them this year because they lost 1,000 sheep in the drought of 1999-2002, and were left with only 40 sheep and a few donkeys. When prohibited by Hazaras to use their traditional summer grazing land, they pleaded with the village elder of Bidmoskh to allow them to stay on this ridge for two weeks before returning early to their winter grazing area in Kandahar. They know the elder of Bidmoskh from long years of transiting through this area on their way to and from the summer grazing in Jaghatu (also in Ghazni). A number of times, the Bidmoskh elder had been helpful in mediating disputes with settled families when their sheep had damaged crops. The Kuchi group expect to leave him several sheep as a gift. These seven tents, each containing 3-4 families including relatives, generally remain together throughout the year. In winter they join with some 50-60 other families of the same group or qawm on the Kandahar sand plains. No one in this qawm cultivates. This qawm is known as Niazi, led by Khamran, the descendant of Abdullah Khan. The Niazi qawm comprises 300 tents in all, or 1,200 family units. Most of these tents are still in the Jaghatu area, begging assistance from mainly Pashtun occupants of the area. Around 170 tents of the Niazi are still scattered in Jaghato, and it has been agreed that they should depart as soon as possible to avoid conflicts with settled families. Khamran informs us that Kuchis joined together in late 2002 to beg President Karzai to force the Hazaras to allow them to use the summer pastures as they have for many decades, but with no result.
Kuchi use of Hazarajat pastures probably does not extend further back than 100 years. Their access to summer pastures was formalised in the 1950s through the issue of land documents to leaders of groups. Each group was allocated a discrete and precisely described summer grazing territory (hudood). Because Kuchi themselves drew up the boundaries, upon which these allocations are based, each territory is precisely known and its boundaries respected by other Kuchi. Hudood were divided by qawm. The hudood of the Niazi is bounded on the west by the village of Sarkhai, on the east by Surbib Village, on the south by Momand Village and the north by Paienda Khel Village. Winter areas are known as "sand areas" and are not divided by Qawm. This hudood of the Niazi is joined on the west by the hudood of the Marioni qawm and on the east by the Daftani qawm. The Niazi tend to move first to the summer pasture, followed in 10-15 days by the Marioni, then the Daftani people. Intermarriage among these three qawm is practised. Today there are 130 separate land documents, each protectively held by the respective group leader. Each provides a general description of the territory allocated."

Document(s): Open document

28.08.2002 - Source:

WFP: Pastoralists in Afghanistan are popularly called 'Kuchi' ("28/08/2002 - WFP: Pastoralist vulnerability study") [ID 1600]

"The pastoralists in Afghanistan are popularly called ‘Kuchi’. The term Kuchi literally means ‘to shift’, leading directly to the fact that it refers to nomadic people. This term does not apply solely to Pashtun pastoralists, but it can also include other pastoralist communities, like the Beluch.
In this time, after three years of consecutive drought, many pastoralists have lost their livestock. A large proportion of them are therefore no longer migrating. However, they will still consider themselves to be ‘Kuchi’, since that is how they identify themselves.
‘Being Kuchi’, specifically for the Pashtun, refers to a code of dress, behaviour and dialect. Even Kuchi who have settled years ago will still consider themselves to be Kuchi, in spite of the fact that they have not migrated with their animals in several years. It is often heard that all Pashtun were once Kuchi, and comparing old literature with the current situation confirms the belief that certain tribes that were once nomadic might have settled now and vice versa.
In certain areas, specifically in the West and the East, there is a tendency over time to sedentarize and renomadize according to circumstances. However, certain people will never cross that boundary to become nomadic, whereas others will, depending on their specific background. Again, the different livelihood types that people can adopt are determined by geographical, social and ethnic, economic and historical factors.
Therefore, for the purpose of the assessment, a line has to be drawn to define who can be considered a pastoralist; to differentiate them from the settled and semi-settled.
For the purposes of the survey I suggest the following definition: Those who were still migrating with their animals at the beginning of 1999, are considered Kuchi, both nomadic and semi nomadic pastoralists."

Document(s): 28/08/2002 - WFP: Pastoralist vulnerability study

28.08.2002 - Source:

WFP: Social structure of Pasthun and Beluchi pastoralists (Kuchi) ("28/08/2002 - WFP: Pastoralist Vulnerability Study") [ID 1601]

"Kuchi, both Beluch and Pashtun, are divided into tribes and subtribes. The Pashtun are divided into two main sections, the Ghilzai and the Durrani. In the south the majority of the pastoralists are Ghilzai. Within these sections there are tribes, which are again subdivided into subtribes ( khel). At each level, there is a recognized leadership.
The Beluch are equally divided into tribes and subtribes, like Mengel, Sasuli and others. In the north, there are also other (agro-) pastoralist people, like Tajik, Aimak and Arab.
Pashtun Kuchi stay together in communities, which are more or less concentrated depending on the pasture availability and the time of year. Migration takes place with a few households together, after which the community will meet again in the summer or winter area. This migration is not centrally organized, but depends on the individual household’s decision. These communities have a leader ( malik), who represents their interest in decision making councils. These communities are not fixed entities, but split and join to adjust to the needs of its members. Communities serve as mechanisms for providing security in numbers, providing support and labour opportunities for the poor, and serve as a pool of shared labour.
The Beluch also live in communities, referred to by either the name of the leader or the well they use. Not much is currently known regarding the structure and dynamics of these communities."

Document(s): 28/08/2002 - WFP: Pastoralist Vulnerability Study

21.08.2002 - Source: Integrated Regional Information Network

IRIN: Particularly pastoralist Kuchis without access to food ("Focus on food security") [#30691],  [ID 1602]

"Despite the recovery of agricultural production, millions of Afghans, particularly pastoralist Kuchis [nomads], have little or no access to food due to serious erosion of their purchasing power and loss of productive assets," Ahmed explained.

Kuchis constitute about 1.5 million of the country's total population of about 22 million. The drought, which, according to Ahmed, has wrought even more destruction in the country than the war, has hit the Kuchis very hard.

Kuchis largely depend on livestock, which has declined by 40 percent since 1998. An FAO survey in March 2002 showed that this livestock population might have declined even more due to continued distress-selling of animals during the summer and autumn of last year. "These losses may be as high as 90 to 95 percent for sheep and goats, and 85 percent for camels," it noted.

The same view is expressed in a report by the Feinstein International Famine Centre (FIFC) at Tufts University, USA. "More than two decades of war and political instability have rendered Afghanistan fundamentally vulnerable to food insecurity," the FIFC said. "Three, and in some places four, years of drought have overwhelmed the capacity of Afghan communities to cope with the loss of agriculture and livestock production, unemployment and burgeoning debt burdens," it added."

Document(s): Open document

21.08.2002 - Source: UN High Commissioner for Refugees

UNHCR: Majority of displaced Afghans in south are nomad Kuchis; UNHCR field worker reports extreme shortage of food ("Feature: Nomads in no man's land – The Kuchis in southern Afghanistan") [#8321],  [ID 1603]

"There are more than 400,000 displaced Afghans in the south. By far the majority are nomadic shepherds, the Kuchis, who used to migrate hundreds of kilometres with their beautiful flocks, some families possessing as many as 500 sheep. But today, all that remains of their former prosperity are a few live animals and a bit of yoghurt diluted with water – the shalambe that many of the nomads feed themselves with.

All told, the UNHCR team has 200 tents today to distribute in 11 camps in Panjway. Another 800 tents will follow in the next few days, along with blankets and jerry cans for water that the women and children go begging for in nearby villages – if they can still get any. Lately the owners of the wells have been denying the thirsty nomads access to them. They say the water is running out and they need it to irrigate their vineyards.
[…]
They are Kuchis coming from the Reg Desert. Many are Pashtuns, others are Baluchis. They have lost all their possessions to the drought. They used their last donkeys and camels to get here, then sold them out of hunger. Now, out of 240 families, not one possesses a single sheep.
[…]
I ask them if they are prepared to quit the nomadic life, to abandon their Kuchi customs, perhaps forever. There is an assumption (a very politically correct one) that the Kuchis can never adapt to anything other than shepherding their own flocks. Their free and roving nature won't allow them to settle down in one place. And so humanitarian organisations are wary of sticking their noses into the nomads' cyclical existence; no one, good heavens, wants to be blamed for having destroyed a whole people's traditions.

But in truth, the Kuchis are quite prepared to do whatever work they can to make a living. The logic of survival says so. They can hoe the earth and harvest wheat; all they need is the opportunity. Now they haven't got anything and are dying of hunger.

Food, food, food, this is their refrain.

It's not a manner of speaking. "We don't have anything left in this tent," the village chief tells me. Then another old man takes out a little dusty bundle. He unrolls it delicately, as if there was something precious inside. He unveils two little pieces of squashed bread, dried and black. One piece is already half eaten. It's all his family possesses. They have nothing else for supper and the next day, and no money to buy more.

Instead of being accompanied by the usual shouts, the old mullah says this in the perfect silence of the tent, where everyone has suddenly stopped talking and is looking into empty space. And I seem to have understood the last phrase without Sultan translating it from Pashto: "This is all we have to eat."

Document(s): Open document

17.06.2002 - Source: Institute for War and Peace Reporting

IWPR: Kuchi underrepresented in the Loya Jirga ("Minorities Make Themselves Heard") [#30493],  [ID 1604]

"In addition, estimates for Kuchi nomads, who are ethnically Pashtun in the main, vary between 600,000 and three million.
All group numbers are probably higher than that now, and most claim a larger proportion of the total as well.
Hashmat Ghani, leader of the Kuchis, told IWPR that his community numbered six million. "We were given 27 seats in the Loya Jirga, which was not enough. We have lost our traditional grazing lands in Hazarajat over the past 23 years of wars - and they should be given back or exchanged for other lands," he said.
Ghani said the nomads wanted state facilities such as schools and hospitals in both their summer and winter grazing grounds.
Sayed Ismail, leader of an Ismaeeli group in Badakhshan, said his group used to have place of worship in Kabul in the time of Daud Khan in the 1970s. But the mujahadin and then the Taleban repressed their religious activities. The community considers itself Muslim but co-religionists often regard them as apostates.
Even the country's tiny Hindu and Sikh communities are represented at the Loya Jirga, selected as part of an allocation of seats to minorities of all kinds. "We demand that we should be known as Afghans," said Ganga Ram. "During mujahedin and Taleban rule we were made to leave the country and our homes and shops were taken over. "
Preet Singh, one of four representatives from the Sikh minority, said, "We should be given chance in all state affairs and services. Even before Islam we lived here."

Document(s): Open document

09.05.2002 - Source: BBC News

BBC: Kuchi say they are the most under-valued and most widely-abused ethnic minority ("Afghan nomads feel the cold") [#7011],  [ID 1605]

"Afghanistan's nomadic Kuchi tribes say they are the most under-valued and most widely-abused ethnic minority in the country. (…) And now they fear that they will be under-represented in the Loya Jirga, or gathering of Afghan elders, which is due to meet in June to appoint Afghanistan's new administration. (…) But the fact that they are constantly on the move across the length and breadth of the country means that they are almost impossible to count. (…)And without a clear idea of how many they number, nobody knows how many seats to allocate them in the coming emergency grand council meeting."

Document(s): Open document