KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – Local sources in Afghanistan’s northeastern Panjshir province report that Taliban forces have detained seven local residents in Talkha village, situated in the capital city of Bazarak.
Local sources have identified the detainees as Tawakol, Jaweed, Hasib, Gulbuddin, Homayoon, and Mohammad Allam. They were arrested while collecting grass for their livestock on Thursday, June 6.
According to sources, these young men had received permission from a Taliban checkpoint to gather grass from a nearby mountain. However, they were pursued by Taliban forces and ultimately arrested in the mountains.
The reason for their detention remains unclear. The Taliban authorities have yet to comment on the matter.
The Taliban authorities in Panjshir province have prohibited local residents from venturing into the mountains without their permission. In recent years, they have imprisoned and tortured dozens of Panjshiri residents for such excursions.
Two years ago, Taliban militants shot and killed a woman in Panjshir as she was delivering food to her husband, who was collecting grass in the mountains.
The latest incident is part of a series of crackdowns by the Taliban on residents of Panjshir province. Since their return to power, the Taliban have detained, tortured, and killed dozens of residents of the province, often accusing them of collaborating with armed anti-Taliban groups or possessing weapons.
Rights groups, activists, and groups opposing the Taliban say that the regime’s suppressive behavior toward residents of Panjshir province amounts to war crimes.
In a report titled “Your Sons Are in The Mountains: The Collective Punishment of Civilians in Panjshir by the Taliban,” released in mid-2023, Amnesty International said that the Taliban have committed the war crime of collective punishment against civilians in Panjshir province.
“While many of the acts taken by Taliban forces individually constitute war crimes, the entirety of those acts – plus the additional arbitrary detentions and restrictions on the civilian population – also constitute the war crime of collective punishment,” the international watchdog said.
The report quoted Agnès Callamard, Secretary-General of Amnesty International, saying that the list of war crimes and other violations of international humanitarian law committed by the Taliban in Panjshir is extensive.
“In Panjshir, the Taliban’s cruel tactic of targeting civilians due to suspicion of their affiliation with the NRF is causing widespread misery and fear. Thousands of people are being swept up in the Taliban’s continued oppression, which is clearly intended to intimidate and punish,” she said.
The Taliban’s deliberate targeting of civilians in Panjshir must stop immediately,” she emphasized.
However, the Taliban have previously denied reports of such incidents and have asserted their commitment to their leader’s general amnesty, which includes residents of Panjshir province and individuals who worked with the previous government.
