Every time I asked someone about recovering my house in Jalalabad, I received a different answer: “You should go to the Ministry of Justice,” one said. “The quickest way is through the Ministry of the Interior,” said another. Yet another advised me to go to the top, to the office of the president. Confused, I asked a friend if any of these approaches would work.
“Nay, they will not,” he replied without hesitation. “There is not yet any law or order here. To go against Hazrat Ali would be very dangerous. He’s still a powerful warlord who controls that area. Things have not changed—the one with the most weapons still makes the law. Better to wait a few years until the government gets established.”
But I could not wait. During the war many Afghans’ homes were unlawfully taken over. To return property to its rightful owner, the new government created the Office of Disputes in Land Titles. A clerk at the Office of Disputes in Land Titles handed me a form.
“State what the problem is and why you’re entitled to the property. The minister will interview you, and if he is convinced you have legal title, he will issue an order to the occupant to vacate your property.”
After filling out the form, I handed it to the clerk. As he read it, his eyes widened.
“Why put yourself in such danger?” he asked. “Hazrat Ali is a very powerful man. Don’t do this.”
“Tashakor,” I said, “but I want to file this.”
“It’s just a house.”
“Nay, it is not just a house. It may seem like just a house to you, but it is much more than that. It is a test of our new Afghanistan. If you cannot return property to its rightful owner, what will that say about our country?”
The clerk reluctantly accepted it. “We will review your application. Come back in a week for an interview.”
As I left the building, I heard Baba’s voice. “Our country is like a baby taking its first steps, trying to find itself in its new world. You must take things one step at a time, Bari.”
To my great surprise, when I returned the next week, the clerk handed me an order directing Hazrat Ali to vacate my house.
“You have your order, now go,” he said.
“I thought there would be an interview with the minister,” I replied.
“That won’t be necessary.”
“Nay, I want to see the minister,” I protested.
“You can’t.”
“Why not?”
“He’s very busy. He would get nothing done if he had to see everyone who asked for an order.”
“But this is no ordinary situation,” I protested. “It will not be easy to enforce. You cannot expect me to just hand Hazrat Ali this order.”
The clerk returned to his desk.
“I have all day,” I called over to him. “I will wait here for my interview with the minister.”
After several hours of being stared at by me, the clerk disappeared into a rear office and then returned. “The minister will see you now,” he said coldly.
The minister did not look pleased to see me as I explained that if I did not get help with Hazrat Ali, the Ministry’s order would be useless. He tried to look patient. “This is just the first step,” the minister said. “If it doesn’t work, there are other channels. The minister of justice and the minister of the interior can also issue orders. You can get an order from the president. If all that fails, you can get an order from a judge.”
This was not good news. I knew the minister of justice would do nothing, and Hazrat Ali was now chief of police in Jalalabad, a position that was part of the Ministry of the Interior. The interior minister would not issue an order to his own police chief—especially one who was a warlord.
“Come back if this fails,” the minister said.
We both knew it would.
Because I could not go to the minister of justice or the minister of the interior, I had only one option left—the Office of the President. I asked a friend to arrange the meeting.
“I would be happy to,” he said, “but we must respect the new government’s hierarchy. First, you must go to Jalalabad and speak with the governor, Hadji Din Mohammad. Tell him you have an appointment with the president. You must give him the opportunity to solve the problem himself. If that fails, call me.”
I agreed but knew it was a fool’s errand. Hadji Din Mohammad was the brother of mujahideen commanders who had fought against the Russians alongside Hazrat Ali. After the Taliban were ousted, one of the brothers, together with Hazrat Ali, had formed a shura—a kind of informal government—to rule Jalalabad. When Hamid Karzai became president, he appointed the brother as one of his vice presidents. What chance was there that someone close to Hazrat Ali would enforce an order against him?