A former official in charge of Panjshir prison under the previous government was arrested by Taliban forces a few days ago, local sources confirmed to KabulNow.
Members of the Taliban detained the ex-official, identified as General Abdul Wakil, at his residence in Dara district’s Abdullah Khel area on Monday, July 15, sources said.
The fate and whereabouts of Wakil remain unknown as of yet.
The sources also stated that five members of Wakil’s family were killed by the Taliban forces in recent years.
His two nephews and two sons-in-law were shot dead by the Taliban in the mountains of Panjshir, and one of his nephews died under Taliban torture in the group’s prison in the Dara district.
Taliban authorities have not commented in this regard.
The mountainous Panjshir Valley north of Kabul is a remote region that has defied Taliban rule after the group seized control over the province in September 2021, weeks after it took over the capital Kabul, while the U.S. withdrew.
Many in Afghanistan’s shattered security forces joined anti-Taliban resistance groups, including the National Resistance Front (NRF).
Led by Ahmad Massoud, son of slain Ahmad Shah Massoud, the NRF is an armed opposition group battling the Taliban mainly in the northern and northeastern provinces, with Panjshir province as its stronghold.
Rights groups say the Taliban forces have committed war crimes in Panjshir.
The UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Afghanistan, Richard Bennett has raised repeated concerns about the Taliban’s violations of human rights in the province.
In his reports, he stated that the Taliban have routinely subjected civilians and prisoners in Panjshir to house-to-house searches, arbitrary arrest and detention, extrajudicial killings, torture, and displacement. He also said the group has heavily suppressed local communities amid an environment of fear.
