KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – At least 251 people, including women and children, were killed in targeted, mysterious, and extrajudicial incidents across Afghanistan over the past six months, according to a new report by the UK-based human rights group Rawadari.
The report, “Afghanistan Mid-Year Human Rights Situation Report: January-June 30, 2025,” released Saturday, says the figure represents a 30% increase compared with the same period last year, when 193 cases were recorded.
Rawadari said the killings were carried out by Taliban members and unidentified individuals. Methods included shootings, the use of cold weapons, beheadings, and burning.
The victims included 219 men, 20 women, and 12 children, mainly former government employees, journalists, rights defenders, people accused of links to anti-Taliban groups, protesters, local elders, and influential figures.
The report also recorded at least 20 former government employees killed or injured in similar incidents in the first half of 2025, a 60% rise from the same period in 2024.
At least 27 cases of enforced disappearance were documented across six provinces, a 25% increase on last year. Some victims were tortured and later found dead.
Since January, the report says, the Taliban have arbitrarily detained at least 1,509 people, including 16 women, double the number from the same period last year. At least four people died in Taliban prisons due to severe torture.
Rawadari said the Taliban use torture to punish, intimidate, or extract information, including from people wrongly detained. The report also highlights a crackdown on protests, creating “a climate of fear and deliberate suppression of dissent.”
The report also noted that ethnic and religious minorities continue to face discrimination in access to jobs, government services, humanitarian aid, and national resources. The Taliban have imposed restrictions on religious freedom and forced some minorities to convert to Hanafi Islam.
Rawadari called on the international community, the UN, human rights organizations, and Taliban authorities to take practical steps to protect human rights and ensure dignity for all Afghan citizens.
The Taliban authorities have not commented on the report but have previously dismissed similar findings, claiming they maintain security and uphold citizens’ rights.
