The brutal crimes of the Taliban before the seizure of power in Afghanistan that anticipate the horrors that could be repeated

Taliban forces in Afghanistan have targeted critics known to attack for months despite the fact that they claimed to have ordered their fighters to exercise restraint, according to a report by Human Rights Watch for July. In Kandahar, the Taliban detained and executed suspected members of the provincial government and security forces and, in some cases, their families.

Among recent cases, the Taliban executed a popular Kandahari comedian, Nazar Mohammad, known as Khasha Zwan, who posted routines including songs and jokes on TikTok. He also reportedly worked with the local police. On July 22, 2021, Taliban fighters kidnapped Khasha Zwan from his home in southern Kandahar, beat him, and then shot him repeatedly. After a video of two men slapping and abusing Khasha Zwan appeared on social media, the Taliban admitted that two of his fighters killed him.

“It seems, Taliban forces executed Khasha Zwan for making fun of Taliban leaders “Patricia Gossman, associate director for Asia at Human Rights Watch, said in July. “His assassination and other recent abuses demonstrate the willingness of Taliban commanders to violently crush even the most tame criticisms or objections. “

Activists from Kandahar said that in villages surrounding the provincial capital, Taliban commanders detained dozens of people associated with the government or the police. In one case, on July 16, Taliban fighters kidnapped two men whose brothers had worked with NDS 03, a strike force supported by the CIA. Family members say they have not heard from the two since.

Also in mid-July, according to a media report, Taliban fighters arrested Ahmadullah, a former policeman, in Spin Boldak. His family has not heard from him since. His uncle said the Taliban sent letters saying that anyone who worked with the government or foreign forces would not be hurt as long as they informed the Taliban leadership and “Confessed to their ‘crime'”.

International humanitarian law prohibits summary executions, enforced disappearances and other ill-treatment of any detained person, which are war crimes. It is illegal to detain civilians unless it is absolutely necessary for imperative security reasons. Retaliatory attacks are a form of collective punishment and are also prohibited.

“The advancing Taliban forces do not have a blank check to brutally attack their detractors,” said Gossman. “Taliban leaders generally deny the abuses, but it is their fighters who carry out these attacks and it is their responsibility to stop the killings. “

In the case of Nazar Mohammad, the men have been arrested and will stand trial, said Zabihullah Mujahid, the Taliban spokesman who admitted the group’s responsibility for the crime. He claimed the comedian, originally from southern Kandahar province, was also a member of the Afghan National Police and had been implicated in the torture and murder of the Taliban. Mujahid said the Taliban should have arrested the comedian and brought him to Taliban court, rather than killing him.

The brutality of the massacre at this time heightened fears of revenge attacks.. Also it undermined the Taliban’s assurances that people working for the US government, US military, or US organizations would not be harmed.

The Taliban are detaining hundreds of people in the areas they have invaded. Schools have been burnt down and reports of restrictions on women similar to those imposed when insurgents last ruled Afghanistan. At the time, they denied girls access to school and prohibited women from working.

In an interview in July with PATaliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen said the group’s commanders have been ordered not to interfere with civilians or impose restrictions on newly captured areas. He said that when complaints of irregularities arise, they are investigated.

However, Gossman says that all sides committed revenge killings during the decades of war in Afghanistan. “The war – the 43 years it has lasted – has a revenge-driven dynamic. Revenge for past wrongs, including terrible atrocities, committed by one or the other has been a mobilizing factor for all the different armed forces ”.

(With information from AP and Human Rights Watch)

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