Last Thursday, a group of enraged men in the Swat region of Pakistan stormed a security checkpoint and subjected an individual to vigilante justice, accusing him of blasphemy against the Quran, ultimately resulting in his murder. Such incidents occur frequently in Pakistan. The judicial and legal apparatuses of Pakistan fail to take appropriate action to control this situation, which has claimed numerous lives of Pakistani citizens over the years. Pakistani judicial authorities understand that in the prejudiced atmosphere of Pakistan, their serious efforts to prevent further occurrences of such events are likely perceived as support for blasphemy against Muslim sanctities, exposing them to various accusations and labels. Consequently, Pakistan’s judicial system, which operates decisively in many other areas, often responds with leniency and compromise towards perpetrators and individuals who unlawfully commit murders without following legal procedures.
If we consider vigilante justice in Afghanistan, we find that in this respect, the situation in this country is similar to Pakistan and sometimes even worse. Imagine during the Republic era when the governing system fundamentally supported freedom of speech, belief, and women’s rights, a vigilante justice takes place in the heart of Kabul, Afghanistan, leaving the global community bewildered. The reality of the environment under the Taliban’s suppressive and medieval rule becomes evident. The Taliban do not believe in human rights values; rather, they deem them as blasphemy and disbelief, and they are unfamiliar with the principles of fair trial. In such an environment, it is natural that the easiest action is to accuse individuals and punish them under various labels.
Hasht-e-Subh Daily recently reported that the Taliban brutally tortured a person who had brought books about Ahmad Shah Massoud’s legacy from Iran. Taliban labeled him as an “apostate” and confiscated his books. Terms like “apostate” and “infidel” are commonly used by Taliban members against their opponents. By branding individuals with these epithets, the Taliban justify their torture and killings. Afghanistan’s situation is significantly more perilous than Pakistan’s in this regard, as extremist ideologues hold sway under the Taliban’s rule, executing ruthless punishments without fear of consequences. The tragedy extends deep, with hundreds of individuals unaffiliated with the Taliban having been murdered or subjected to horrific torture on charges of apostasy, disbelief, and collaboration with non-Muslims.
The bulk of Taliban ranks are comprised of their fighters. Taliban leadership consistently strives to keep their fighters satisfied and prioritizes their demands. Military commanders within Taliban ranks sometimes disregard the words of Mullah Hibatullah and do not heed his orders. These commanders, having played significant roles during the collapse of the republican system and possessing greater skills in killings and massacres than others, deem themselves deserving of admiration and praise, and they are only accountable to Mullah Hibatullah besides themselves. Therefore, even if Taliban authorities seek to curb the unilateral actions of Taliban fighters and endeavor to reduce the killings or torture of innocent individuals at the hands of these military personnel, they are powerless. Taliban fighters within their security shell grant themselves the right to engage with civilians in any manner, while adjacent security shells have no right to intervene. With these explanations, it becomes clear why under Taliban rule, massacres and torture of innocent individuals are consistently at the forefront of media headlines. The organizational structure of the Taliban is designed in a way that facilitates street punishments and vigilante justice.
One of the indications demonstrating that Taliban fighters do not prioritize directives from their supreme leader is the fact that over the past three years, hundreds, even thousands, of former government officials or employees have been targeted by Taliban forces, either assassinated or imprisoned. This is despite the Taliban supreme leader issuing a general amnesty upon entering Kabul, urging fighters to forget the past and refrain from seeking vengeance against those who worked under the previous government.
On one hand, the Taliban claim to establish 100% security in Afghanistan; however, on the other hand, they attribute the killings of former military personnel or cultural and artistic activists to unidentified armed individuals. They use this tactic to absolve themselves of responsibility for these crimes and avoid being accused of human rights violations. It is evident that “unidentified armed individuals” are another name for the Taliban, as these unidentified armed individuals typically target elements deemed undesirable by the Taliban and are deemed necessary to be removed from the scene. It should be noted that the Taliban’s claim of providing comprehensive security in the country is false, as multiple reports from credible news sources indicate the active presence of dozens of other terrorist groups in Afghanistan alongside ISIS-Khorasan, thereby exposing the fallacy of the Taliban’s claim.
Since its inception, the Taliban, more than any other military-political group, have sought to justify their actions through religion and endeavor to cloak their deeds in religious and legal legitimacy. The majority of Afghanistan’s people, who hold steadfast religious beliefs, are susceptible to being deceived by religious slogans and accepting propaganda that appears religious. The point is that the Taliban, a repressive and extremist group, resort to religious justifications to effectively carry out their suppression tactics, labeling their opponents with terms like “secular,” “apostate,” and “traitor.” They exploit the slightest pretext to eliminate their intellectual rivals and consider their interpretation of religion and truth as exclusive to their group. The Taliban’s religious cover for their crimes not only facilitates their agenda of societal homogenization but also presents religion and religiosity in some minds as instruments of malice, bigotry, hatred, and oppression.
The Head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) recently stated that transforming Taliban from fighters in the mountains to participants in negotiation rooms is a challenging and time-consuming task, affirming the need to understand their beliefs and not expect them to think like the rest of the world. While this statement rationalizes the Taliban’s behavior and approach, it shouldn’t overlook that the Taliban represent a cultural segment of Afghanistan’s rural areas, heavily influenced by narrow-minded and prejudiced religious interpretations, seeking to impose rural culture and worldview on other parts of the country. Notably, the Taliban’s encounters with more developed cities in Afghanistan have been more problematic in terms of governance. Currently, the Taliban suppresses rival ideologies under the guise of secularism, apostasy, and intellectual deviance, employing violent suppression and physical elimination which are not proper ways to engage with dissenting ideologies. Human history has consistently shown that restricting ideologies and thoughts only strengthens people’s desire for them. The Taliban regime, in its enforcement of oppression and suppression, is no more authoritative than the Soviet regime. While Soviet leaders managed to create severe oppression, in the long term, rival ideologies like Marxism undermined its foundations.
You can read the Persian version of this analysis here:
طالبان و سرکوب مخالفان زیر نام «مرتد» و «سکولار» | روزنامه ۸صبح