Residents of Takhar province in northeastern Afghanistan have expressed their dissatisfaction with the slow pace of legal proceedings in Taliban courts.
According to some residents, their cases have remained unresolved for over seven months’ despite being registered with the Taliban Appeal Court in Takhar province. The situation has caused frustration and confusion among citizens, who complain about being turned away from the court without any resolution to their cases.
Many of the complainants recount their experiences of going to the Taliban court seeking justice and a fair hearing, but to no avail. In some cases, even simple issues related to inheritance are left unaddressed for months, which is a sharp contrast to the swift resolution of legal matters in the previous government.
Maiwand, an alias used by a resident of the capital city of Taleqan, told KabulNow that while legal cases were previously handled expeditiously by the previous government, they now languish for months under the current Taliban administration, with officials refusing to entertain his arguments.
Imran, (alias) another resident of Takhar province, has expressed frustration with the slow pace of justice in Taliban courts. He said that despite approaching the law department and attempting to make their case heard, his claim for inheritance from his uncle has yet to be addressed, and he has received no response despite repeated attempts.
“We came here in the law department, they run us around every day. No one is listening to what we have to say,” Imran said, “We need our cases dealt with.”
Despite the mounting complaints, Mohammad Saber Hanafi, the head of the Taliban Appeal Court in Takhar province, has rejected the claims of a slow process of legal cases. He told KabulNow that “during the first six months of last year, 2,686 cases were resolved in many district courts of Takhar province.”
However, the reports of “extra-legal behavior” by the Taliban in administering justice, including extrajudicial executions, continue to raise concerns about the Taliban’s ability to provide a fair and effective justice system to the people of Afghanistan.
Recently, Amnesty International said in a report that the Taliban committed extensive systematic extrajudicial executions in Afghanistan. The Office of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) recorded least 237 extrajudicial executions between August 15, 2021 and June 15, 2022.
