KABUL, Afghanistan — A Taliban spokesman has acknowledged that some Afghans deported from neighboring countries have faced retaliation, even as the group’s chief spokesman rejected a United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) report accusing Taliban authorities of widespread abuses against returnees.
Hamidullah Fitrat, the Taliban’s deputy spokesman, said in a post late Thursday on X that “in some areas, a few incidents have occurred that are not political but personal and very small in scale.” He added that UNAMA “should not use these to spread propaganda and increase concerns.”
Earlier Thursday, Taliban chief spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid dismissed the U.N. findings as “propaganda,” saying the report relied on “biased sources.”
His comments came after UNAMA released a report warning that thousands of Afghans forcibly returned from Iran and Pakistan have faced arbitrary arrests, torture, ill‑treatment and other abuses.
According to UNAMA, since the Taliban return to power in August 2021, specific groups, including women and girls, former government officials and members of the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces, civil society activists, human rights defenders and journalists, have been at particular risk of rights violations carried out by the Taliban.
While Fitrat says that retaliations are exceptions and not representative of their broader policy, UNAMA has called on them to halt arbitrary detentions, investigate reports of abuse and ensure the protection of deportees.
UNAMA has also urged Iran and Pakistan to suspend forced returns until adequate safeguards are in place, citing violations of international norms, including the principle of non‑refoulement.
