The Taliban have recently increased pressure on residents, particularly by intensifying the detention of former security forces, women, and girls. They have also imposed restrictions on government employees. During the past week, this group detained numerous civilians and ex-military personnel in Panjshir, Kabul, and Badghis provinces. They have carried out public executions, including a quadruple execution in Kabul following a verbal dispute. Furthermore, in Mazar-e-Sharif, the capital of Balkh province, residents are required to inform security authorities about their travel and family gatherings. In Sar-e-Pol province, around 200 teachers and education department employees have been warned of dismissal due to their short beards. The Taliban’s moral police have enforced stricter rules for women, emphasizing their interpretation of moral conduct. Representatives from 12 United Nations Security Council member countries have condemned the Taliban’s discrimination against women as a form of “gender-based violence” and raised concerns about the group’s involvement in ethnic cleansing, according to a UN member’s report.
Human rights organizations have widely accused the Taliban of violating human rights and publicly executing individuals over the past two years. In the latest incident, members of this group shot dead four Panjshir residents in the Dar-ul-Aman area of Kabul after a verbal altercation at a checkpoint. Sources report that the Taliban initially beat seven young men in a personal car when they attempted to pass through a Taliban checkpoint, after which the Taliban fighters opened fire on them.
Sources indicate that the Taliban have prevented the creation of media reports on the details of this incident and have also warned the families of the victims to refrain from speaking to the media. Reports have so far only revealed the identities of two of the victims, named Shams-ul-Rahman and Mohammad Yusuf, with an emphasis that the fate of the other three individuals has been transferred to an unknown location by the Taliban are yet to be known.
In the past two years, the fighters of this group have also targeted women and children by running vehicles over them. Last week, a 55-year-old woman named Momena, in the third district of Fayzabad city, the capital of Badakhshan province, was hit by a Taliban vehicle and lost her life. The Taliban claimed to have detained the driver of the vehicle.
The Taliban have intensified their efforts to impose restrictions and exert pressure on citizens and government employees. In Sar-e Pol province, they have issued a warning of dismissal to 168 teachers and education department workers due to their short beards. A Taliban letter states that these individuals have been found guilty of their beards short during a “head and face inspection,” and if they do not allow their beards to grow longer, they will face job termination. The letter categorizes having a short beard and preventing it from growing longer as a punishable offense.
As residents in various provinces face harassment, intimidation, and torture by the Taliban’s moral police, Mehrma (pseudonym), an elderly woman from Badakhshan, reveals to the Hasht-e Subh Daily, “We’ve experienced different regimes, but nothing compares to the extreme Taliban. They’ve forbidden the burqa, insisting on black veils which is a shroud, and they subject women to harassment for non-compliance.”
The restrictions imposed by the Taliban go beyond just beard length and wearing a turban; this group has also restricted people’s right to travel and hold family gatherings. In Mazar-e-Sharif, the capital of Balkh province, the Taliban have ordered the residents to ensure that when they travel or hold family gatherings, they inform the local authorities and coordinate with their district representative and inform the Taliban.
A resident of Balkh, who wishes to remain anonymous, confirms that the local authorities have instructed them to notify the Taliban before leaving their homes for a trip, ensuring the that the “authorities” are informed of their trips.
Detentions, repression, and torture of citizens by the Taliban have been reported on numerous occasions. However, this group continues its oppressive policies without regard to the demands of the people and the international community. Several days ago, Taliban fighters in the second district of Behsud, Maidan Wardak province, beat several women and detained at least 12 individuals on charges of possessing weapons. They warned that these detainees would not be released until they surrender their weapons or provide a ransom. Those detained are from the villages of Siyaqol, Abshir, Ablis, and Takto in this district.
Continuing their arbitrary detentions, this group has imprisoned and tortured more than 35 individuals for hours in a house in Dara district of Panjshir province on Wednesday. Sources have reported that all the men from the villages of Golkhar, Eskoy, Kohnaday, and Khargah were imprisoned and later released after being subjected to beatings.
This comes as previously, the Taliban had detained over 10 more residents of Abdullah Khil Valley in Darah district, Panjshir province, and transferred them to an undisclosed location. Sources say that most of the detainees are former security personnel.
Additionally, just three days ago, Taliban fighters forcibly apprehended five individuals from the Pujawa region of Panjshir province, relocating them to an undisclosed location. Local sources have identified the detainees as Nader Shah, Ahmad Fareed, Shams-ul-Rahman, Fazl Rabi, and Serajuddin, highlighting that they endured severe torture.
Over the past two years, the Taliban, in addition to detaining their political opposition, have also arrested a significant number of members of the “Hizb-e Tahrir” party who were actively working to restore the Taliban to power. Last week, the Taliban detained at least 20 members of the “Hizb-e Tahrir” group in Ghazni province, and their fate remains unknown.
Furthermore, informed sources in Badakhshan report that the Taliban arrested several members of the group “Hizb-e Tahrir” approximately a month ago and transferred them to an undisclosed location, with no information available about their status.
The Taliban continue to escalate pressure on civilians, and the United Nations has expressed concern about the dire human rights situation resulting from the Taliban’s repressive policies and actions. Richard Bennett, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan, stated in his recent report that Afghanistan is facing a storm of human rights abuses due to the Taliban’s repressive policies and the culture of impunity. Mr. Bennett added, “Many Afghans, especially women and girls, human rights defenders, journalists, ethnic and linguistic minorities, LGBTQ+ communities, former government officials, and military and security personnel are facing significant restrictions.”
Meanwhile, the United States Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), citing a UN member state, reports that the Taliban have engaged in forced displacement and ethnic cleansing. According to SIGAR’s report, Tajiks, Hazaras, Uzbeks, and Turkmen, due to their ethnicity, have been forcibly expelled from their homes, subjected to violence, killed, or had their houses set on fire by the Taliban.
Simultaneously with the United Nations expressed concern about the severe human rights conditions in Afghanistan, the “Women, Peace, and Security (WPS)” organization has declared that, according to the 2023 global rankings, Afghan women hold the most unfavorable position among 177 countries.
Moreover, several members of the United Nations Security Council have voiced deep concerns about the human rights conditions in Afghanistan. They have underlined that women in public areas, including female journalists, human rights activists, and those opposing the Taliban, are experiencing violence and torture. Representatives from 12 United Nations Security Council member states, including three permanent members, released a joint statement during the “Women, Peace, and Security” forum of the United Nations, denouncing systematic discrimination against women in Afghanistan and classifying it as “gender-based violence.”
It’s important to note that the Taliban have consistently denied human rights violations over the past two years and asserted that the restrictions on women are temporary. This stance has been criticized as “absurd” by female protesters.