KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – The Taliban have detained Gul Mohammad Shakaran, the former head of Kandahar’s anti-narcotics department, and his son, Nazir Ahmad Shakaran, local sources and relatives said on Tuesday.
The two were detained by forces from the Taliban’s Kandahar police command on Tuesday, Sept. 29, according to the sources. They are being held at the criminal investigation department of the Taliban’s Kandahar police command, the sources said.
Shakaran, who now works at a private hospital in Kandahar, had a verbal altercation with an individual at the facility on Monday, according to the sources. He was detained the following day along with his son.
Relatives of Gul Mohammad Shakaran confirmed the detention. They said he had previously been interrogated by the Taliban on several occasions.
Local Taliban officials in Kandahar have not commented on the matter.
The detentions come amid growing reports of arbitrary arrests by the Taliban in various provinces. Former government employees, civil society members, civilians and former security personnel have frequently been among those targeted, according to local accounts.
A report published earlier by the UK-based rights group Rawadari documented a sharp rise in arbitrary detentions and enforced disappearances. The group recorded at least 2,559 people unlawfully detained in 2025, more than double the figure from 2024. Those affected included former government employees, civil society members, human rights defenders including women, and individuals accused of links to opposition groups.
