Several citizens of Afghanistan who traveled to Kabul from various provinces to have their tazkiras (national ID card) obtained and translated have raised serious concerns about corruption and obstruction at the “Emirate Affairs” directorate of the Taliban’s Ministry of Justice. They say that after receiving their tazkiras from the Taliban-controlled General Directorate of Civil Registration, they are required to have them verified by this body for translation purposes. However, the head and staff of the department have used various pretexts to obstruct the processing of applicants’ documents and demanded money in exchange for completing their work.
Adding to a growing pattern of complaints about mistreatment and obstruction by the Taliban across state institutions under the group’s control, several people who visited the Taliban’s Ministry of Justice to have their tazkiras verified have reported bribery and humiliating treatment. According to them, Taliban officials at the “State Affairs” directorate use various pretexts to hold up tazkiras that the group’s own civil registration office issued, then demand $500 in bribes for each document through outside intermediaries.
At least three sources, who shared videos of their documents bearing verification stamps from the Taliban-controlled civil registration office, confirmed that outside the “State Affairs” office — which the Taliban refer to as the “Emirate Affairs” office — they were asked to pay $500 for the verification of each paper tazkira. Some people are forced to pay, they said, while they themselves could not afford the cost.
Nawid (pseudonym), one of those seeking tazkiras for his immediate family members, says he completed all the official steps required for obtaining a tazkira. When he sought to have the English translation verified by the Taliban-controlled “State Affairs” office, however, his tazkira was placed on hold.
He says: “I obtained the court orders, went to the civil registration office, and completed every required step. When I wanted to get verification from the [Taliban’s] Ministry of Foreign Affairs, they told me the English translation had to be verified by the State Affairs office first. I went there, paid the required fee, and was told to come back in two days. When I returned, they said everyone obtaining a tazkira must bring their foreign cards. I brought the foreign cards, but they still refused to process my documents. I have been going around in circles for more than 10 days.”
Nawid adds, “For 10 days, I have been following up with them, and they will not hand over my tazkira. They say go and pay $500 so we can get your tazkiras released from Qari Yaser, the head of this department. When you go to him, he insults you. What are we supposed to do? These are their own official documents, issued by the statistics office. Where are we supposed to get $500 from? They humiliate and insult people at the office. They treat us Hazara people this way, while others are allowed to proceed. I see it every single day. We are waiting. We have already deposited 10,000 Afghani at the bank.”
Another man who came from the north of the country says he wants to obtain absentee tazkiras for his grandchildren. He completed all the official procedures and already obtained tazkiras for them from the civil registration office. They also received confirmation through a video call, he says, and paid $150 for each.
He adds: “The State Affairs office is supposed to verify official English documents, but they say go and bring an electronic tazkira or bring the father. Where are we supposed to get that from? The father is abroad. Yet the civil registration office issued the tazkiras based on the father’s tazkira.”
He says with concern, “No one hears our voices. The head flings our petitions back at us. A person outside says pay $500 per tazkira, and we will get them for you. He wants $1,500 in total. If this is illegal, why does the civil registration office issue tazkiras and take money for them?”
Another woman with a similar experience says, “I completed all my paperwork. When I took the tazkira for verification to the [Taliban’s] Ministry of Foreign Affairs, they told me to take it to the State Affairs office. I went there, paid the required fee, but when I came back on the specified date, they did not hand over the tazkiras. I visited 20 times, but they still have not returned my documents. Another woman was there who threw herself at the feet of a Taliban and cried and begged, but they still did not give her documents back. They did not hand over my documents either, and they treated us with contempt and humiliation. Outside, some individuals say give us $500, and we will take care of it for you.”
Citizens of Afghanistan have previously complained about the conduct of institutions under Taliban control, saying that obstruction and bribery have reached their peak. In many offices, they say, individuals affiliated with the Taliban have infiltrated the system and refuse to process applicants’ work without receiving money or gifts.
Last year, the Taliban’s civil registration and statistics office announced that the price of paper tazkiras distributed through absentee procedures had been set at between $50 and $150. In the group’s press release issued on Tuesday, September 23, 2025, it was stated that citizens of Afghanistan residing in neighboring countries, Central Asia, India, and Turkey who wish to obtain a paper tazkira through absentee procedures will pay $50 instead of the previous $200, while the rate for citizens residing in Arab, African, and Russian countries has been set at $70.
The Taliban’s civil registration and statistics office further added that citizens of Afghanistan residing in European countries, the United States, Canada, and Australia who wish to obtain a paper tazkira through absentee procedures will pay $150.
This comes as the Taliban’s representation in Bonn, Germany, has announced that individuals who cannot personally visit the civil registration office in Afghanistan may visit the representation to obtain an absentee tazkira application form. Applicants must physically send the completed form to Afghanistan, where their relatives will follow up and complete the document process through the relevant office. Without a valid tazkira, applications for a passport, a certificate of celibacy, a marriage certificate, and many other consular services cannot be processed.
You can read the Persian version of this report here:
اتهام دریافت ۵۰۰ دالر رشوه برای تایید تذکره؛ در «قضایای امارتی» طالبان چه میگذرد؟
