Several citizens of the country have expressed concern over the rising number of missing children in various provinces. These citizens, speaking with the Hasht-e Subh Daily, reported an unprecedented increase in cases of child abduction in their provinces, describing the Taliban’s claims of ensuring security as mere propaganda by the group.
According to the Hasht-e Subh Daily’s findings, over the past week, at least 13 children have gone missing in the provinces of Kabul, Nangarhar, Logar, Paktia and Ghazni. These children were between six and 14 years old. Although the families of these children have informed the Taliban, the group has so far failed to find and return the missing children.
Several family members and relatives of several children who have disappeared in various cities in recent days shared bitter accounts of these incidents with the Hasht-e Subh Daily.
Sardar (pseudonym) is a relative of an 11-year-old child who has been missing for a week from the area under the ninth police security district of Kabul city. He says: “It has been seven or eight days that we have been in a state of confusion. We went to dozens of organizations, filed petitions, printed his photos, and posted announcements on Facebook and in mosques, but we have no clue or understanding of where he is. We do not know who took him, from where, or whether something has happened to him somewhere. In the end, no clue has been found.”
Sardar adds: “This situation is extremely difficult. His mother is currently hospitalized. Doctors have said that due to severe distress, she suffered a stroke and is now in a coma.”
Mohammad Ewaz, a resident of Ghazni city and a relative of an eight-year-old child, said the child disappeared three days ago from an area under the second police security district of Ghazni city. He said: “This boy was heading to school in the morning, and according to what people have said, three individuals in a car took him away. We went to the district several times, but so far they have told us nothing about his condition or fate.”
At the same time, the number of citizens posting announcements about their missing children on social media has increased on Facebook.
A resident of Omid-e Sabz township in western Kabul, who wished to remain anonymous in this report, recounted witnessing a failed child abduction attempt in western Kabul: “We had gone up the hill early in the morning to exercise. On our way back, we noticed a young girl in a school uniform in the arms of a young man, crying and wailing. There were three of us, and we noticed from a distance and grew suspicious. When we shouted, asking what was going on, the man let go of the girl and fled.”
Meanwhile, credible sources from the provinces of Logar, Nangarhar and Paktika have confirmed to the Hasht-e Subh Daily that they see one to two announcements of missing children posted daily on social media pages, involving children who have disappeared from various areas of these provinces.
This comes as the rate of criminal offenses has increased in most provinces of the country in recent days, with citizens saying the Taliban has failed to ensure security.
You can read the Persian version of this report here:
افزایش نگرانکننده مفقودی کودکان؛ شهروندان طالبان را در تأمین امنیت ناکام میدانند
