KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – Local sources in Afghanistan’s eastern Nangarhar province report that Taliban intelligence agents have detained a former military commander who had recently returned from Iran.
Speaking with KabulNow today, the sources identified the former ANDSF member as Ahmad Shah, who was detained in Jalalabad, the provincial capital, on Wednesday, August 21.
According to the sources, the former commander fled to Iran after the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan. However, he had recently returned at the invitation of the Taliban’s Commission for Contact with Afghan Personalities, which was formed to facilitate the return of political leaders and former government officials.
Another source informed KabulNow that Taliban agents surrounded the commander’s home two weeks ago and arrested him upon his arrival.
According to this source, the former commander was also given an amnesty card by the Taliban, which the regime provides to individuals, particularly former government officials, who return to Afghanistan.
Local Taliban authorities have not yet provided any comment on the incident.
This incident is the latest in a series of targeted arrests, detentions, and killings of members of former ANDSF, employees of the previous government, and rights activists by the Taliban in Afghanistan. The situation has raised serious concerns about the safety and security of citizens across the country.
Human rights groups have repeatedly accused the Taliban of gross human rights violations, expressing concerns that revenge killings and enforced disappearances of former security forces have not stopped despite the regime’s “general amnesty.”
Last year, Amnesty International called for the application of universal jurisdiction against members of the Taliban accused of arbitrary arrest, torture, and extrajudicial killing of employees of the former government, security forces, and members of armed anti-Taliban groups.
Amnesty International reiterated the need for an independent international accountability mechanism for Afghanistan. The organization has requested the International Criminal Court (ICC) to prioritize investigating the situation in Afghanistan since 2003 when the court has jurisdiction over the situation in the country.
