KABUL, AFGHANISTAN — A Taliban military court in Kabul has sentenced Abdul Karim Abbasi, the former head of Panjshir’s Provincial Council, to 12 years in prison on charges of alleged links to the National Resistance Front (NRF).
Sources confirmed to KabulNow that Abbasi was tried in absentia several months ago on accusations of “supporting” the resistance, a claim his associates call “inaccurate.” The NRF is an armed opposition group fighting against the Taliban mainly in northern provinces and Kabul.
Sources said that Abbasi is currently detained at Bagram prison. They added that Abbasi was denied both a defense attorney and family visits before sentencing. He has spent the last four months in detention, first held by Taliban intelligence and later transferred between Pul-e-Charkhi and Bagram prisons.
Abbasi was arrested by the Taliban on February 27 for a second time, having previously been detained in 2022 and released on bail after two months.
Family members assert that since the Taliban’s takeover, Abbasi had been living a quiet life in Kabul’s Shahr-e-Naw area, where he managed a small lapis lazuli shop.
The Taliban has not yet commented on Abbasi’s case.
The incident adds to a pattern of intensified Taliban crackdowns in Panjshir, where residents are often accused of collaborating with anti-Taliban groups.
Human rights organizations have expressed concern over these detentions, noting that the Taliban has repeatedly arrested, imprisoned, and in some cases killed former officials and ex-military personnel, despite its initial promise of a “general amnesty.” These organizations are urging the Taliban to uphold the rights of all citizens, including former officials, and to respect international human rights norms.