In the nearly three years since the Taliban’s return to power, they have publicly executed dozens and tried hundreds in vigilante justice. Findings by the Hasht-e Subh Daily reveal that in 70 days, the Taliban have executed 94 people, with 30 of them publicly killed by the group’s fighters. The Taliban often attribute these killings to unidentified gunmen, a claim deemed “ridiculous” by citizens. Among the victims, eight were former military personnel. During this period, the Taliban executed six people in two provinces for protesting and killed another six at checkpoints. The victims include elderly men, women, and young people.
When the Taliban initially took control of Afghanistan, they announced that their supreme leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada, had declared a general amnesty. However, in the past three years, the group has consistently arrested and, in many cases, killed former military personnel, political opponents, and critics on various pretexts.
This Hasht-e Subh Daily report found that more than 100 people have been killed in various incidents since the beginning of this year up to the publication of the report. Of these, the Taliban directly executed 30, and 70 others were mysteriously killed, mostly attributed to unidentified gunmen.
The Taliban have also executed some civilians involved in conflicts and disputes in different regions. A local commander named Muta’simbillah Raashidi, the Taliban commander in the Raghistan district of Badakhshan province, killed a civilian and injured five others on Tuesday, May 28.
Taliban fighters have even executed girls who refused to marry them. A Taliban fighter named Zabihullah shot and killed a girl named Halima in Chaghatak village of Almar district, Faryab province after she rejected his marriage proposal. This incident occurred on Thursday, May 23.
Shooting Citizens at Taliban Checkpoints
Since their takeover, the Taliban have shot dozens of young people on various charges. Within less than two months, the group’s fighters executed six people at checkpoints in Kabul and Balkh provinces.
In the latest incident, Taliban fighters shot and killed two people at a checkpoint in the Dasht-e Shor area of Mazar-i-Sharif, the capital of Balkh province. Sources reported on Thursday, May 16, that these two individuals were shot while passing through the Taliban checkpoint.
Previously, the Taliban shot at five civilians at a checkpoint in Kabul, killing four and injuring one. This incident occurred on Sunday, May 12, in the Karte Mamorin area of Kabul City. Three of the victims were from Panjshir province, and one was from Shakardara district in Kabul province.
Taliban’s Execution of Protesters
Taliban spokespersons and some officials have explicitly stated that public criticism of their regime is not allowed. They have advised that anyone with complaints or criticisms should privately address them with Taliban officials, although meetings with these officials are inaccessible.
Local Taliban officials in Nangarhar province confirmed on Thursday, May 9, that three people were killed and several others injured after Taliban fighters opened fire on protesters. The protesters, reportedly nomads, were demonstrating against the Taliban’s order to demolish their homes to build a new Torkham customs building.
Taliban fighters also killed four protesters in Badakhshan province. Two residents from Darayim district and two others from Argo district were shot dead by Taliban fighters following their protest, with several others injured.
The protesters claimed that Taliban fighters had entered people’s homes under the pretext of destroying poppy fields, harassing women, and insulting local elders. However, the Taliban severely suppressed the protesters without addressing their grievances.
Execution of Former Military Personnel by the Taliban
Despite declaring a general amnesty, the Taliban have continued to kill former military personnel on various pretexts. Numerous reports suggest that the group has used the general amnesty as a trap to arrest and kill former government soldiers.
Continuing their targeted killings, the Taliban executed four members of a family in Garziwan village, Kohistanat district, Sar-e Pol province on Wednesday, May 8. The victims, reportedly former members of the local police during the previous government, included a woman and a nine-year-old girl.
Additionally, a former soldier named Tokhtamish was executed in Maymana City, the capital of Faryab province, by Mullah Sarwar, the commander of the second battalion in the Almar district of Faryab province. The Taliban also executed a former member of the local police forces in Dasht-e Qala district, Takhar province.
Another former soldier, named Islamuddin, was killed by Taliban gunmen on motorcycles around 8:30 PM on Wednesday, April 17, in the Alang village, Dasht-e Qala district, as he was returning from his farm near his home.
In further continuation of targeted killings, the Taliban executed a former special forces member in central Parwan, Parwan province. This former soldier, named Safiullah, was killed in early March this year in the Doghabad area, part of the provincial capital. He was a member of the previous government’s special forces unit.
In another incident, the Taliban killed a former soldier named Abdul Quddus with knives in Chahar Burjak district, Nimruz province, on Sunday, March 31. Abdul Quddus had served in the security unit of the Kamal Khan Dam under the previous government.
Furthermore, a former army officer named Colonel Tawus was killed by Taliban fighters in Mohammad Agha district, Logar province. After the fall of Afghanistan to the Taliban, he had been farming when he was arrested, humiliated, and executed by the Taliban.
Execution of Civilians by the Taliban
In addition to targeting former military personnel and individuals whom they claim have violated their regulations at checkpoints, the Taliban have also killed civilians without any accusations. Local sources in Paktia province reported that around 9:00 PM on Wednesday, May 1, Taliban fighters killed a young Tajik man in front of his home gate in Gardiz City. According to sources, this murder took place just steps away from the second Taliban security zone in the Karamashi area of Gardiz City. The victim, Sultan, known as “Baba,” was 27 years old.
Over the past nearly three years, Taliban fighters have committed widespread extrajudicial killings in the province of Panjshir. Continuing their massacre of Panjshir residents, the Taliban killed a young man on Saturday night, April 6, in Golabkhil village, Abshar district of the province. The victim, named Noor Agha, was shot by Taliban fighters at the outpost in Dost Ali village as he returned from Tarawih prayers.
The Taliban also killed a 33-year-old man named Ayazuddin in the second district of Taloqan City, the capital of Takhar province. This young man was shot dead by Taliban fighters on Saturday, March 23, without any accusations.
Furthermore, a 14-year-old boy was killed by Taliban intelligence personnel in Paktika province. Mohammad Rafiq was shot inside the Taliban intelligence management building in Wāzakhwa district on Friday, April, 26.
In Jalalabad City, the capital of Nangarhar province, a young man named Nazifullah was also killed in an armed clash between two Taliban fighters on Friday night, March 29, after Tarawih prayers in the seventh district of Jalalabad City.
Over the past two months, the Taliban have killed two individuals on charges of kidnapping in Kabul City. These two individuals were killed on Sunday night, April 24, by Taliban forces. This comes as the Taliban last year also killed two young men returning from a football match on charges of kidnapping in Charikar City, the capital of Parwan province.
In addition to direct killings by the Taliban, another 70 individuals have been killed in mysterious events, or their killings have been attributed to unidentified armed individuals. Most citizens in the country accuse the Taliban of these killings. They claim that other armed groups have disarmed, and it is the Taliban who, under various names, are killing their opponents.
Meanwhile, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) office stated in a report released in April of this year that despite the Taliban’s declaration of general amnesty, arbitrary detentions, torture, mistreatment, and extrajudicial killings of officials and military personnel of the former government by this group continue.
You can read the Persian version of this daily report here:
قتل ۱۰۰ تن در کمتر از سه ماه؛ تنها ۳۰ تن بهگونه علنی از سوی طالبان تیرباران شدهاند | روزنامه ۸صبح