Taliban Intelligence Arrests Thousands of Republican-era Prisoners

Kabul Times News | Abdul Haq Hamidi

Reliable sources from Kabul tell Kabul Times News that Taliban intelligence forces have begun the process of identifying and rearresting thousands of Republican-era prisoners in recent days.

According to sources, this operation is ongoing in a number of districts of Kabul and some other provinces, and Taliban intelligence forces are using lists and documents left over from the prisons of the previous government to identify people who were released from prisons after the fall of the Republican regime.

Sources add that in the past few days, a large number of these prisoners have been rearrested and transferred to unknown locations. According to them, some of the detainees have been accused of criminal and security crimes; but the exact details of the charges have not been officially released yet.

Reports also indicate that a number of dangerous prisoners and wanted individuals have managed to escape and hide before the arrival of intelligence forces, an issue that has raised new security concerns in Kabul and some provinces.

Some security sources say that the Taliban are trying to re-examine the status of prisoners released after the collapse of the previous government and arrest those considered “security threats” by the group.

So far, Taliban officials have not officially said anything about the exact number of detainees, their identities, and the fate of the fugitives; but reports indicate that search and arrest operations are still ongoing.

Human rights activists and a number of citizens have expressed concern about the increase in arrests without a transparent judicial process and warn that the continuation of such measures could further complicate the security and human rights situation in Afghanistan.