The Taliban authorities have arrested and tortured at least 50 former employees of a private security company in Panjshir province in the past two months on alleged weapon charges.
Local sources told KabulNow that personnel of the private security company, which was responsible for the security of a private hotel in Kabul, were detained by the Taliban in the Anaba district of Panjshir province.
According to the sources, they were detained for up to four days and subjected to torture in detention. Some were later released on “guarantee” if they surrendered weapons to the Taliban authorities.
“These individuals don’t hold any weapons because their weapons were previously collected by the security company they worked for,” One source told KabulNow.
“But they were compelled to find weapons from other places and hand them over to Taliban forces in order to escape from being arrested or tortured again.”
In nearly two years since the Taliban takeover, Panjshir province has become the center of a conflict between the Taliban and armed anti-Taliban groups, including the National Resistance Front (NRF).
Reports indicate that the Taliban have detained, tortured, and executed ex-officials, former members of security forces, and civilians in Panjshir, often accusing them of having links with anti-Taliban groups.
Human rights organizations have raised concerns that the Taliban have committed war crimes in Panjshir province.
