Local sources from Kabul and northern provinces report a surge in Taliban detentions of both former government military personnel and civilians. Dozens of individuals have been detained in recent weeks across these provinces and taken to undisclosed locations. The Taliban allegedly detain these individuals on various pretexts and release them upon payment or the provision of weapons. Sources further claim that detainees face severe torture in Taliban prisons to compel them to pay. Meanwhile, civil activists accuse the Taliban of extortion and hostile behavior, highlighting the group’s daily disrespect toward Afghans. They suggest that Taliban pressures have prompted more citizens to flee or attempt escape. Political analysts attribute the Taliban’s actions to playing on ethnic and religious prejudices, noting similarities to their previous rule.
Sources in Kabul, Panjshir, Kapisa, and Parwan provinces state that the Taliban have detained and imprisoned thousands of residents of these provinces over the past two and a half years of their rule in the country.
Although sources do not specify the exact number of detainees, recently Habibullah Badr, the Deputy Chief of the Office of Prisons Administration of the Taliban, stated in an interview with Tolonews that currently 19,000 individuals are imprisoned in Taliban’s prisons. He mentioned that among them are 800 women and 25 foreign citizens.
However, some citizens claim that most detainees are former government officials and residents of the northern provinces. According to them, the Taliban have recently detained dozens of individuals in several of these provinces of the country and transferred them to undisclosed locations. Sources add that the Taliban detain these individuals on various pretexts and release them in exchange for payment and weapons.
In the latest incident, the Taliban detained a father and son from Panjshir province on Saturday, February 3, from the Fourth District of Kabul city. The detainees are identified as Mohammad Najim Panjsheri and Agha Shirin.
According to sources, Mohammad Najim and his son Agha Shirin have had no affiliation with any group in the past. Still, they have been detained on the orders of a Taliban official. Sources state that this Taliban commander has demanded one million Afghanis in cash and several weapons in exchange for the release of the two detainees.
Sources recall that the Taliban had previously detained Mohammad Najim Panjsheri for a period but later released him on bail. However, it remains unclear whether these two individuals have been released by the Taliban again or not.
Additionally, the Taliban have detained a former National Security soldier from Rokha district, Panjshir province. This former soldier, Shah Mahmood, was detained by the Taliban on Saturday, February 3. Shah Mahmood served in the Directorate of National Security Forces in Panjshir province, and the Taliban have arrested him on charges of “possessing weapons.” However, sources add that Shah Mahmood had previously surrendered his weapons to the Taliban and currently does not possess any firearms.
Furthermore, local sources in the province of Panjshir informed the Hasht-e Subh Daily on Friday, February 9, that the Taliban have detained four individuals in this province. These individuals were detained in the past week from the centers of the Rokha and Anaba districts. Two of the detainees are identified as Sanaullah and Sayed Ansar, while the identities of the other two remain unknown.
On the other hand, the Taliban have also detained two former government soldiers on the Kabul-Daikundi route. One of these former soldiers is named Reza Mujahidzada, who was detained by the Taliban on Friday, February 9, at the entrance gate of Maidan Wardak province. Reza is a resident of Daikundi province and worked as a “driver” on the Kabul-Daikundi route after the fall of the previous government.
One day before this incident, the Taliban detained Mohammad Reza Hekmatyar, the commander responsible for the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the previous government in the Shahristan district of this province, while he was traveling to Daikundi province, in the vicinity of Jalriz district, Maidan Wardak province.
According to sources, the Taliban subject the detainees to severe torture in their prisons to coerce them into paying money.
Meanwhile, civil activists are accusing the Taliban of “extortion” and “hostile behavior.” According to Haroon Majidi, one of these activists, the Taliban consistently show “daily disrespect” towards the people of Afghanistan. He explains, “The history of the Taliban terrorist group reveals that they rely on extortion as one of their primary sources of income. During the previous government, this group resorted to various forms of extortion, using different pretexts to detain people and extort money from them.” Mr. Majidi further notes, “Most former government officials are particularly vulnerable to Taliban extortion. Many of those imprisoned by this group have not committed any crimes, yet they face daily Taliban torture until their families pay for their release, and this extortion continues to escalate.”
According to Majidi, the Taliban, in exchange for the release of detained individuals with weapons or even a single firearm, which starts at one hundred thousand Afghanis, demand cash from their families.
Meanwhile, some experts state that Taliban pressures have led more citizens to flee the country or attempt to escape. Farooq Aleem, a former university professor, told the Hasht-e Subh Daily that the strict restrictions and widespread detentions by the Taliban have pushed people to the brink. Mr. Aleem adds, “The Taliban arbitrarily and without justification trap Afghan citizens in various pretexts and release them in exchange for money or sometimes weapons. There are no laws or standards to stop their actions. There is no trust that any citizen will not be apprehended today or tomorrow.”
Political analysts attribute the Taliban’s actions to “playing on ethnic and religious prejudices” and say that this group engaged in similar actions during its previous rule. Wais Naseri, a political affairs expert, told the Hasht-e Subh Daily: “In the Taliban regime, non-Pashtun ethnic groups are treated as war prisoners. The Taliban not only exclude other ethnicities from Afghanistan’s political, military, and economic spheres but also regard them as second-class citizens.”
Meanwhile, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) released a report on Monday, February 22, detailing the human rights situation in Afghanistan. The report highlights the Taliban’s failure to uphold their commitments regarding general amnesty, as stated by the group’s supreme leader. It underscores ongoing atrocities, arbitrary detentions, torture, and mistreatment of former government officials and military personnel in the country. According to the report, the Taliban continue to detain women activists, human rights defenders, journalists, and media personnel. However, the Taliban have not confirmed any of the allegations made over the past two years.
