A number of shopkeepers at the Ahmadi Market in Kabul complain that the market owner has disregarded their sarqofli (a right to use a shop, acquired by payment, without owning the building or land). They say the owner has handed the building over to a company for reconstruction and told them that their sarqofli rights will no longer be valid after the renovation. The shopkeepers add that the documents they hold for the purchase of the sarqofli of their shops make no mention of the right being lost after the market is rebuilt. According to them, the market owner has also rejected their offer to pay the reconstruction costs. In commercial transactions, sarqofli is a right a person acquires by paying money to use a shop and run a business in it.
In interviews with the Hasht-e Subh Daily, the shopkeepers say they have raised their complaint with the relevant bodies under the Taliban administration, but it has not been addressed as they had hoped. According to the shopkeepers, their case is still ongoing in a Taliban court. Even so, their shops have been emptied, and the reconstruction of the market has begun before a final ruling was issued. They stress that the market owner must either refund the money they paid for sarqofli or hand the shops back to them after the reconstruction.
In commercial transactions, sarqofli is a right a person acquires by paying money to use a shop and run a business in it. In such a deal, the buyer does not necessarily become the owner of the building or the land. Instead, the buyer’s rights are determined by the agreement and the relevant documents. The transfer of sarqofli to another person, and its status if the building is demolished or rebuilt, also depend on the terms of the contract and applicable laws.
Shakib (pseudonym), one of the shopkeepers at the Ahmadi Market in Kabul, expresses concern about the market owner’s disregard for the sarqofli rights to his shop. He says he bought the sarqofli of his shop several years ago and that the shop is his only source of income. However, he says the market owner began demolishing the shops without clarifying the legal status of sarqofli. Shakib adds that, despite his offer to pay the cost of rebuilding his shop, the market owner did not accept it. He stresses that he does not want to lose the capital he invested by purchasing sarqofli.
The shopkeeper says: “We bought the sarqofli of our shop several years ago for 1.9 million Afghanis. This market was not rebuilt after the fire in 2022, and since then we have been in dispute with the market owner over the fate of our sarqofli rights. This year the issue became more serious, and the market owner said the sarqofli is no longer valid and that with the demolition of the market, our right is also lost. Now the shops have been emptied, and the demolition has started, while the legal status of our sarqofli has still not been clarified.”
Shakib also says that he and several other shopkeepers have taken their complaint to a court under Taliban control, but that demolition of the market began before their complaint was finally reviewed.
The shopkeeper says: “We took our complaint to the court, but before the legal status of our sarqofli rights was clarified, another order was issued and the demolition of the market began. What we want is for our shops to be handed back to us after the reconstruction, or for the money we paid for sarqofli to be refunded.”
Shir Agha (pseudonym), another shopkeeper at the Ahmadi Market in Kabul, says his father bought the sarqofli of the shop 35 years ago and that he himself has worked in the same shop for the past 10 years. He adds that, despite holding the sarqofli purchase document, his shop has been emptied and he is now worried about losing his family’s only source of income. According to him, the shopkeepers approached the Council of Ulema and departments under Taliban control to resolve the problem, but their demand was not addressed.
The young man says: “The document given to us when we purchased the sarqofli states that the shop will remain at our disposal even after the market is rebuilt. But now the action being taken goes against this document. We took the matter to court, and a hearing was also held, but before a final ruling was issued, our shops were emptied. In total, 65 shops are facing this problem, and these shops have been our only source of income.”
Shir Agha says the market owner has neither refunded the money they paid for sarqofli nor accepted that the shops will be handed back to them after the reconstruction. According to him, the shopkeepers’ proposals for resolving the problem have also been rejected.
Shir Agha adds: “We raised the matter with Taliban departments. After that, the lawyer appointed by the market owner was detained, but he was released after paying a bribe to the Taliban. Whatever we did, no one heard our voice. We ask Hasht-e Subh Daily to be our voice and bring our problem to the attention of the public. We had a dispute with the market owner over this issue in this very market. Now Hajji Zalmai, the market owner, has gone abroad, and his lawyer is managing the affairs of the market. We want to receive our rights, and we do not want our sarqofli rights to be ignored.”
The Ahmadi and Abaseen Zadran markets, located in the Kota-e-Sangi area of Kabul, were hit by a fire in 2022. The fire first started at the Ahmadi Market and then spread to the Abaseen Zadran Market. After the incident, the Ahmadi Market was not rebuilt for several years, but the demolition and reconstruction process has now begun. According to the shopkeepers, the fate of the sarqofli rights to the market’s 65 shops remains unclear.
You can read the Persian version of this report here:
بازسازی مارکیت احمدی؛ دکانداران کابل نگران از دستدادن حق سرقفلیشاناند
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