In the past two years, the Taliban regime has repeatedly opened and closed the Passport General Directorate for applicants. The group has recently announced that it has taken steps to facilitate applicants by initiating the offline distribution or collection of paper applications. However, visual evidence circulated in the media indicates the distressing and sorrowful situation of those seeking to submit their applications. Thousands of citizens, including women and children, spend nights in the cold winter air behind the closed gates of the Passport General Directorate under Taliban control, only to submit their applications to Taliban authorities the next day. The widespread onslaught, disorder, and cold weather have resulted in the death of several women and children. Applicants are risking their lives to obtain passports at a time when, according to global assessments, Afghanistan’s passport was recognized as the “most worthless passport” in the world in 2023. Most people view the sacrifice of people with their lives for the world’s most worthless passport as a sign of dissatisfaction with the Taliban. They emphasize that the citizens of the country are suffering from the oppression of the Taliban, who are incapable of providing even the most basic government services and lack the wisdom and knowledge to do so.
Some citizens in the country are criticizing the process of passport distribution in Kabul, citing concerns about corruption and widespread fraud since the initiation of offline passport distribution. They emphasize that this action has made acquiring passports difficult for ordinary citizens, creating an environment conducive to intermediaries and Taliban affiliates.
This comes as some passport applicants report the loss of several women and men who were seeking passports, especially during nighttime due to the influx of people and the cold weather. According to some passport applicants, several women and teenagers lost their lives after hours of waiting in the cold and the onslaught of hundreds of people.
An eyewitness, who wishes to remain anonymous, confirmed to the Hasht-e Subh Daily that they witnessed the corpses of three women at the gathering site. According to the eyewitnesses, the situation of passport seekers is highly distressing and terrifying. One passport applicant claims that two children also went missing during the past two nights, and there is no information about their return to their families.
Furthermore, a passport applicant, by sharing a video with the Hasht-e Subh Daily, states that applicants buy each application form for 50 Afghanis, but the Taliban throw them into the garbage bin. The applicant says, “The Taliban leaders need to be questioned about the plight of the people. They collect 50 Afghanis for each application form, only to discard them. If they are unable to issue passports, why inconvenience the people, and why broadcast calls on TV for passport applications?”
This passport applicant, herself a woman, describes the distressing situation of female visitors at the Passport Office under Taliban control. She says, “Today, witnessing the brutality inflicted upon my people, my heart ached. I saw children being trampled, women being mercilessly beaten, and a poor woman losing her life. What are they seeking from the people?”
However, several other passport applicants confirm fatalities and injuries to several men and women due to the cold weather and an overwhelming crowd, asserting that obtaining a passport comes at the cost of their lives. According to them, “Acquiring a passport is a fundamental right of a citizen, and everyone should obtain it in the simplest way possible. But in Afghanistan, you have to die to get a passport. You have to sacrifice a child due to beatings and cold weather to become a passport holder.”
Women and children are losing their lives due to the cold and the extensive crowd, as thousands wait behind the walls of the Passport General Directorate under Taliban control in the middle of the night to submit their paper applications to Taliban officials for approval and the passport acquisition process.
Ahmadullah, who spent the night behind the gates of the Passport Office, states that the passport acquisition process, alongside widespread corruption, is degrading and insulting to the collective conscience of our people. He adds, “There is no system; a Taliban member, by reading names, doesn’t follow the queue, and no one responds to your plea all day if you wait in line, because it’s corrupt and involves intermediaries. Either you have money, or you must be a Taliban member to get the passport. We have neither money nor are we Taliban, so, unfortunately, we are unfortunate in this country.”
A passport applicant states, “Taliban individuals outside take bribes, then manipulate the list inside. When the names of those who have previously paid are read by the Taliban, people complain. The Taliban claim these individuals have already been listed and are approved, and all such pretexts. It’s all lies. The poor have to die because they have no intermediaries or money, and they are not members of the Taliban too.”
Another passport applicant adds, “It has been 12 months since I registered online for a passport, and my turn has not come yet. So, I am forced to come here and submit a paper application. The situation here is also hopeless and shocking.” This passport applicant continues, “I spent the entire freezing night standing outside in the open space, but it’s useless because, in the morning, when the Taliban come, they take the handpicked ones [those who paid bribes]. The first and last in the queue is not clear. If they were distributed fairly, why would women, children, and everyone come here? If they managed the system fairly, the situation wouldn’t be this miserable.”
These citizens are complaining about the chaos and disorder in the passport distribution process, despite the Taliban regime’s announcement that, in addition to online distribution, they have started the offline process in Kabul to ease people’s challenges, distributing around 20,000 passports daily.
Abdul Matin Qani, the spokesperson for the Taliban Ministry of Interior, denies corruption in the passport distribution process and emphasizes that serious actions are taken against wrongdoers. He adds that the excessive crowd of applicants will not impact the transparency of the Taliban in passport distribution.
Meanwhile, visual footage circulating on social media indicates that some Taliban fighters are engaging in violent behavior towards passport applicants.
Several passport applicants have reported that the Taliban members at the Passport Office treat citizens in an “inhumane and humiliating” manner, repeatedly striking them with sticks and cables.
However, a video on social media shows a Taliban fighter aggressively beating people with a stick, forcefully attempting to push back the lines of applicants. This video has been widely shared and criticized for depicting the Taliban’s treatment of passport seekers.
Simultaneously, another widely circulated video alleges that the Taliban have collected the applications of applicants and thrown them into the trash bin. In this footage, men and women are seen searching for their applications along the roadside. The owners of these applications claim to have spent 50 Afghanis for each application and consider this amount a significant loss due to the economic difficulties they are enduring in the country.
In another video clip, Taliban members are observed using tear gas to disperse and push back people, a tactic contrary to the principles of providing services and accepted governance standards. This action raises concerns about the Taliban’s approach to handling public affairs.
Meanwhile, some have expressed satisfaction with the offline distribution process and its transparency. They state that the process is transparent, and if applicants follow the rules, everyone gets their turn for their passport. According to them, the offline passport distribution process has facilitated the procedure for patients and other applicants.
The unprecedented rush of men and women to the Passport General Directorate under Taliban control has sparked widespread reactions on social media. Users claim that the continued repressive and monopolistic rule of this group has forced the people of Afghanistan to abandon their homes and homeland at any cost. They emphasize that the extensive nighttime rush to the Passport Office reflects the challenging situation of the people under the control of the Taliban regime. If the opportunity to leave becomes available, they argue that, apart from the Taliban and their supporters, no one will remain in Afghanistan.
It’s noteworthy that Afghan citizens are sacrificing their lives to secure passports, enduring severe hardships, and confronting the Taliban’s brutality. In the meantime, surveys conducted in 2023 have designated the Afghan passport as the “world’s most worthless passport,” positioned at the bottom of the rankings.
