KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – Local sources in Afghanistan’s northeastern Takhar province report that Taliban agents have detained two former soldiers, accusing them of collaborating with armed resistance groups.
Local sources identified the former soldiers as Essa Khan and Rajab Ali, who were arrested from their homes in Farkhar and Kalafgan districts on Wednesday, July 24.
According to sources, Essa Khan served as a coordinating manager at the security command in Badakhshan province, while Rajab Ali worked as a counternarcotic manager at the security command in Takhar province during the previous government.
The Taliban has accused the former soldiers of collaborating with the armed anti-Taliban group, the National Resistance Front (NRF). However, sources indicate that after the collapse of the republic government, they were leading normal lives and had no connection to any groups.
Meanwhile, another source reported that Taliban agents detained a taxi driver named Abdul Khalil in the capital city of Taleqan on Tuesday, July 23. The reason for his arrest remains unclear.
The Taliban authorities have yet to comment on these incidents.
Following their return to power, the Taliban’s supreme leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada, announced a “general amnesty” for employees of the previous government. Despite this, local commanders and members have continued to carry out revenge attacks, especially targeting former security personnel.
For nearly three years, hundreds of former government officials, members of the previous security forces, and civilians have been detained, tortured, killed, or have disappeared across the country.
A week ago, the Taliban forces arrested a former general named Abdul Wakil, who was in charge of Panjshir prison during the republic government. According to a family member, his whereabouts remain unknown.
Two weeks earlier, a former police officer named Sher Mohammad died under Taliban torture in a prison in Kabul. The Taliban had accused him of possessing weapons.
In its May report, the United Nations mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) documented at least 38 instances of arbitrary arrest and detention, at least 10 instances of torture and ill-treatment, verbal threats, and at least four extrajudicial killings of ex-officials and former ANDSF members.
In August last year, UNAMA recorded more than 800 cases of gross rights violations, including arbitrary arrests and detentions, torture, and enforced disappearances. More than 200 former Afghan soldiers and officials were killed extrajudicially by the Taliban since the group overtook power in August 2021.
“In most instances, individuals were detained by de facto security forces, often briefly, before being killed,” the report said.
“Some were taken to detention facilities and killed while in custody, others were taken to unknown locations and killed, their bodies either dumped or handed over to family members,” it added.
