KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – A former police officer was stabbed to death by unidentified assailants in Afghanistan’s southern Zabul province, local sources said, as targeted killings of former government security personnel continue across the country.
The victim, identified as Sayed Jan, 38, was strangled and then killed with a knife in Zabul’s Siuri District on Tuesday, according to the sources.
Sayed Jan had served as a police officer during the previous government. Following the Taliban’s return to power, he worked as a taxi driver to feed his family, the sources added.
The motive behind the killing is not yet known, and the Taliban have not commented on the incident.
Although the perpetrators have not been identified, the Taliban face widespread accusations of responsibility for attacks on former government officials, particularly those from the security forces, despite announcing a “general amnesty” after taking control in 2021.
Human rights organizations say the amnesty promises have not been upheld, citing ongoing arrests, detentions, disappearances, and killings of ex-soldiers and officials.
In his latest quarterly report to the UN Security Council, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres documented at least five killings, 20 cases of arbitrary arrest and detention, and eight cases of torture and ill-treatment of former security personnel between January and March 2026.
Rights groups such as Human Rights Watch say many incidents go unreported, particularly in rural areas, where families fear reprisals if they speak out.
