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AAN’s unofficial translation of the decree on the assets of absentee Afghans and those ‘spreading disorder’

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AAN has translated a decree from the Islamic Emirate’s Supreme Leader concerning assets belonging to Afghans who are absent from the country and those who are engaged in ‘spreading disorder’. The decree orders the dissolution of the Directorate of Residential Property Assessment under the Office of Administrative Affairs and tasks the military wing of the Supreme Court with identifying such individuals and seizing and impounding their assets, which will then be held ‘in trust’, along with any income accruing from them.

Issue No 15

Date: 27/7/1447/Lunar year [17 January 2026]

Decree of Amir ul-Muminin regarding the dissolution of the Directorate of Residential Property Assessment [de manizelo de barrasi riyasat] under the Office of Administrative Affairs and the transfer of its functions to the Supreme Court.

Article 1

The Directorate of Residential Property Assessment of the Office of Administrative Affairs is hereby dissolved, and its functions shall be transferred to the Office of the Deputy Head of the Supreme Court for Military affairs.

Article 2

The military courts operating under the Office of Deputy Head of the Supreme Court for Military Affairs, in addition to their other respective duties, undertake the following duties for the assessment of the assets of absent persons [ghayeb ashkhas] and those engaged in spreading disorder [sa’ii bi’l-fasad]:[1]Neither ‘absentees’, nor ‘those spreading disorder’ were defined in this law. However, the phrase, sa’ii bi’l-fasad, comes from Surah al-Maida, 5:33 of the Quran:  Those that make … Continue reading

1 The investigation, classification [tafkik], verification, preservation and protection, as well as removal from protection and de-listing from protection of the ‎moveable [such as vehicles] and immovable [such as land] assets of absent persons.

2 The seizure and impounding of the assets of those spreading disorder. 

Article 3

1 For the purpose of assessing the assets of absent persons and those spreading disorder, the following positions shall be added to the authorised workforce (tashkil) of the Kabul Military Court:

1 One judge

2 One mufti

3 One court clerk 

2 At the zonal level, the Office of the Deputy Head for Military Affairs shall designate a judge, mufti and clerk from among the existing military courts [personnel] to assess the properties of absent persons and those spreading disorder, and criminal matters shall be referred to a separate judge, mufti and court clerk.

3 With the exception of Kabul and the zonal courts, all other provincial courts are obliged to carry out their regular duties relating to military personnel, in addition to assessing the assets of absent persons and those spreading disorder.

4 With the exception of Kabul and the zonal courts, each provincial court shall appoint two qualified and trustworthy individuals to collect accurate information for the purpose of assessing the properties of absent persons and those spreading disorder.

5 The Supreme Court may, in accordance with the applicable rules and regulations, appoint personnel from the dissolved Directorate of Residential Property Assessment [formerly] under the Office of Administrative Affairs.

Article 4

1 The Office of Administrative Affairs is obliged to hand over all filles of registered documents and related records concerning house assessments to the Supreme Court and shall obtain a receipt from the Court.

2 The Office of Administrative Affairs shall transfer all vehicles, buildings, documents and other related assts of the Directorate of Residential Property Assessment to the Office of the Deputy Head of the Supreme Court for Military affairs and shall obtain a receipt.

Article 5

The Ministry of Finance is obliged to allocate and provide the necessary budget to the Supreme Court, upon approval, for carrying out the assessments of the properties.

Article 6

The Deputy Head of the Supreme Court for Military affairs and the other relevant Military Courts are obliged to assess the residential properties of absent persons in accordance with the principles governing the assessment of movable and immovable property.

Article 7

This decree shall enter into force upon promulgation and shall be published in the Official Gazette. 

Amir ul-Muminin Sheikh ul-Quran wa al-Hadith

Mawlawi Hibatullah Akhundzada

References

References
↑1 Neither ‘absentees’, nor ‘those spreading disorder’ were defined in this law. However, the phrase, sa’ii bi’l-fasad, comes from Surah al-Maida, 5:33 of the Quran: 

Those that make war against Allah and His Messenger, and spread disorder in the land, shall be put to death or crucified or have their hands and feet cut off on alternate sides, or be banished from the country. They shall be disgraced in this world, and then severely punished in the Hereafter. 

Emirate spokesman Zabiullah Mujahed, asked who ‘absent persons’ were and whether they included “political opponents,” said it did: absentee people were those who “hold assets in the country, but are not present and have no authorised representative (wakil) or close relative to manage their property.” Once their assets had been verified, he said, it would then be “determined whether they have taken any actions against the system or were engaged in subversive activity.” If that were the case, their property would be impounded, held in trust and any income accruing held in an escrow bank account, so that they would have “no opportunity to commit crimes using those funds.” The assets of those “involved in opposition and those inciting conflict” had been identified, he said, and it would be up to the Military Court to determine the “appropriate course of action” (Deutsche Welle, 1 February 2026).

Endnotes:

Revisions:

This article was last updated on 12 Feb 2026

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