Afghanistan Independent Land Authority

Throughout the course of Afghanistan’s known history, land administration may be categorised into four transformational stages: Traditional (until 1933); Formalization Efforts (1960- 1970s); Radical (1980s) and Trend to Modernize (2011-present). Since the early 1900’s the government has been engaged in land administration, primarily as a means of tax collection. This activity has historically been the responsibility of the Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Finance respectively, which was subsequently transferred to the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock (MAIL). There continues to be a presumption that the tax rolls contain the names of the rightful owners of the land, and this has been codified in the Land Management Law of 2008. There have been periodic attempts to improve the accuracy of the tax rolls and increase tax revenues, by relying on landowners’ voluntary declarations (Land Declaration Law of 1960). However, these attempts have remained wanting in any significant achievements.

In 1963 AMLAK and Cadastre Directorates were created under the supervision of the Ministry of Finance, which resulted in the first accurate multi-purpose land inventory. Proper and systematic land registration or survey has not happened in the country, with the exception of a primary land survey, mostly in the rural areas conducted between 1964 and 1978. Nevertheless, the survey plan data do not record any land tenure changes since that time. According to the reports, fewer than 30% of immovable properties in urban areas and 10% in rural areas have been registered by state institutions (Alden-Wiley 2013).

This land inventory however did not include the document registration in the courts. In 1973, the Cadastre was separated from the Ministry of Finance and merged into the Afghanistan Geodesy and Cartographic High Office (AGCHO). This has deprived AMLAK of direct access to cadastral maps. Land reform was assigned to AMLAK, which completed a survey and collected information for 800,000 landowners and established new land quality classifications. AMLAK was transferred from the Ministry of Finance to MAIL in 1978 after which, under Soviet influence, land reform focused on expropriation of large landholdings and redistribution to the homeless and the poor. This measure was generally unpopular and the cause of much civil unrest.