Some employees of the former government offices, who continued their Work under the Taliban Rule after the fall of the previous government, report experiencing arbitrary treatment, insults, humiliation, and pretextual dismissals. Local Taliban officials in Ghazni province have reportedly replaced a group of government office employees with their fighters.
According to several of these employees, who have maintained their anonymity, the Taliban have ousted numerous officials in the past month, citing various reasons for their removal from duty. They claim that some government employees have been detained, while others have been demoted from higher to lower positions.
Credible sources confirm to the Hasht-e Subh Daily that the Taliban, intending to place their members in government offices, have created a constrained environment for the remaining employees from the previous government. According to these sources, this has led to some employees abandoning their duties due to inadequate working conditions and the experience of humiliation and insult.
Local sources in the province of Ghazni claim that, according to a verbal directive from the Taliban leadership, no individual, except members of the group, is allowed to serve in government positions above the fourth-ranking administrative position.
Sources report that over the past two months, the Taliban accused and imprisoned the heads of the Civil Registry and Land Authority in the province, alleging abuse of their duties. The Taliban persist in detaining and harassing numerous employees, citing reasons such as inadequate facial hair or failure to wear a hat.
Local sources affirm that the Taliban have forcibly demoted government employees in various directorates, including municipality leadership, finance, intelligence, culture, and central bank representation, from third and fourth-tier positions to lower ones. Subsequently, individuals affiliated with the Taliban have been appointed in their stead.
In addition to the forced demotions, all employees under the control of the Taliban in the directorate of mines and petroleum in this province have been collectively removed from their duties. Instead, fighters and individuals associated with the Taliban have been relocated to replace them.
Yet, information suggests that authorities released the head of the Civil Registry of the Directorate of Statistics and Information in the province after detaining him. Although accused of abusing official duties, insufficient evidence led to his relief from duties. Conversely, the head of the Land Authority in the municipality and housing department remains under the detention of this group for unspecified reasons.
A source within the Taliban municipality in the province of Ghazni, who wishes to remain anonymous, states, “The process of removing experienced employees has been ongoing for the past two years. Initially, they [the Taliban] appointed their individuals to key positions, and in the next step, one by one, alongside professional employees, they have hired their people.”
This source adds, “When the Taliban became proficient alongside former employees, they insult the former employees daily under the pretext of having insufficient facial hair, not having participated in jihad, or being remnants of the republic regime until they become disheartened and abandon their duties. Either they force you to resign, or you end up working under an illiterate subordinate.”
Sources from multiple government offices in Ghazni province affirm that the Taliban have seized managerial positions from individuals remaining from the previous government, and this transfer is still ongoing.
It is noteworthy that after gaining control of Afghanistan, the Taliban initially distributed all high-ranking government positions, including ministries, directorates, presidencies, authorities, appointments, and revenue-generating positions at both the central and provincial levels, among their members and fighters.
While the officials of this group have repeatedly claimed that employees of the previous government have continued their duties, government workers have frequently complained about the restrictions and widespread pressures imposed by this group. According to former government employees, the Taliban are now rolling up their sleeves to hand over all government positions to their fighters. Government office workers in Ghazni province allege that the Taliban have become more inclined towards exclusivism and ethnocentrism.
This comes as, despite declaring a general amnesty for employees of the civilian and military sectors of the previous government, the Taliban have been accused numerous times of murder, detention, torture, humiliation, and harassment of employees of the civilian and military sectors of the previous government.
Despite the general amnesty announcement, this group, according to credible media reports, has detained and tortured hundreds of former security forces personnel and allegedly carried out executions. Currently, dozens of former military personnel are held in detention facilities controlled by this group.
The Taliban have not yet responded to these allegations and also do not answer inquiries from independent and free media outlets.
