KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – Taliban intelligence agents have detained a member of the former Afghanistan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) in Kabul, according to local sources.
Speaking with KabulNow, the sources identified the former soldier as Mohammad Akram, originally from Dara district in northeastern Panjshir province, who was detained in Kabul’s District 16 on Monday, September 16.
According to the sources, Mohammad Akram was a member of the former government’s army and had been living a normal life in Kabul since the collapse of the government. He had no connections to political or armed groups opposing the Taliban.
The motive behind the former soldier’s detention remains unclear, and the Taliban authorities have yet to comment.
This is the latest in a series of targeted arrests, detentions, torture, and killings of former soldiers and employees of the previous government by the Taliban in Afghanistan.
Since their return to power in Afghanistan three years ago, the Taliban, despite their declared “general amnesty,” have arrested, detained, brutally tortured, and, in some cases, killed hundreds of former ANDSF members across the country.
In his recent quarterly report on the situation in Afghanistan, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres documented at least four extrajudicial killings, nine arbitrary arrests, and six instances of torture and ill-treatment of former government officials and soldiers by the Taliban over the past three months.
The UN also recorded one extrajudicial killing and seven arbitrary arrests and detentions of individuals accused of being affiliated with the National Resistance Front, an armed group opposing the Taliban, during the reporting period.
Rights groups and activists 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.”
The latest arrest is also part of the Taliban’s ongoing crackdowns on Panjshir residents. Over the past three years, the regime has detained, tortured, and killed hundreds of former soldiers and civilians in the province, often accusing them of collaborating with armed anti-Taliban groups or possessing weapons.
