KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – The Taliban have detained at least three individuals in Panjshir province over recent days as part of their ongoing crackdown in the region, sources reported.
Local sources told KabulNow that Taliban intelligence agents apprehended two men, identified as Ghulam Akbar and Mahmoud Khan, on Tuesday, January 14.
Akbar, a former National Directorate of Security (NDS) employee under Afghanistan’s previous government, was arrested in the Abdullah Khel area of Dara district. Khan, a former soldier originally from the Dara district, was detained in the Sarai Shamali area of Kabul, where he was living at the time of his arrest.
The motive behind their detention remains unclear. Local sources indicated that neither individual had any known connections to anti-Taliban groups.
In a separate incident on Monday, January 13, Taliban forces arrested a doctor identified as Sahib Khan Mirzai from a clinic managed by the Emergency Medical Center in the Dara district. The reasons for his arrest also remain unknown.
These arrests come amid an escalating Taliban crackdown on Panjshir province, a region historically known as a bastion of resistance.
In the past two weeks alone, the Taliban have reportedly detained at least 20 individuals, including former military personnel and young residents. The group often accuses detainees of possessing weapons or collaborating with armed resistance groups, though many residents view such accusations “as a pretext” for arbitrary detentions.
Panjshir remains the focal point of opposition against the Taliban.
Armed groups such as the National Resistance Front (NRF) and the Afghanistan Freedom Front (AFF) have intensified their attacks on Taliban forces in the region. In response, the Taliban have imposed harsh collective punishment, including mass arrests, torture, and extrajudicial killings.
Human rights organizations have repeatedly condemned the Taliban’s actions in Panjshir, accusing the regime of committing war crimes. Activists and opposition groups argue that the ongoing repression is part of a broader strategy to suppress dissent and silence resistance in the region.
Amnesty International has documented evidence of collective punishment in Panjshir, describing it as a violation of international law. The organization called on the Taliban to end their campaign of violence and adhere to international human rights standards.
