KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – The Taliban has dismissed the UNAMA’s recent report on the human rights situation in Afghanistan, describing it as significantly detached from reality and malicious.
In a post on X on Thursday, August 1, Hamdullah Fitrat, the Taliban’s deputy spokesperson, stated that the UN should respect the principles and beliefs of Afghanistan’s Muslims.
“A segment of the report describing the implementation of Islamic Sharia Law as a breach of human rights is a blatant disrespect to the sacred tenets of Islamic Sharia law,” Fitrat said. “Such statements provoke the sentiments of Muslims and are unacceptable,” he added.
In its quarterly report released on Tuesday, July 30, the UN mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) highlighted the Taliban’s continued use of judicial corporal punishment, documenting at least 179 cases (147 men, 28 women, and 4 boys) from April 1 to June 30.
“For example, on 4 June in Sar-e-Pul city, 63 people were publicly flogged by the de facto authorities,15 (48 men and 15 women) having been convicted of a range of crimes, including armed robbery, adultery, running away from home and pederasty,” UNAMA said.
The Taliban deputy spokesperson said that the regime is implementing Sharia law in Afghanistan and claimed that everyone’s rights are upheld under their rule.
“We view the provision of rights to individuals and citizens as both a religious and Sharia obligation,” he said. “Therefore, we categorically reject this report,” he added.
UNAMA also documented the arbitrary arrest, torture, and killing of former government officials and former ANDSF members in Afghanistan over the past three months.
“Between 1 April and 30 June, UNAMA Human Rights documented at least 60 instances of arbitrary arrest and detention, at least 10 instances of torture and ill-treatment, verbal threats, and at least five killings of former government officials and former ANDSF members (four by unknown perpetrators, one by the de facto authorities),” UNAMA said.
