KABUL, Afghanistan: The Taliban have detained six more residents of Afghanistan’s Panjshir province, amid a series of arbitrary arrests targeting civilians following attacks by anti-Taliban armed groups.
The detainees were identified as Farooq, Abdul Wahid, Qurban Ali, Mashallah, Mohammad Agha and Shah Ramazan, all residents of the Dara Abdullah Khil area of Dara district, Kabul Now reported.
The civilians were detained on Wednesday and transferred to a Taliban regime’s special unit stationed in the Dashtak area of Anaba district, Kabul Now reported, citing local sources.
The Taliban have also detained at least six other residents of Dara district earlier this week, bringing the number of reported arrests in the district to at least 12 in recent days.
One source, cited by Kabul Now, said some of those detained were relatives of Qasim Dara, a former anti-Taliban commander. The Taliban arrested close family members of the commander on suspicion of involvement in an explosion two weeks ago in Dara Abdullah Khil. The anti-Taliban group Green Trend claimed responsibility for the attack.
Following the explosion, the Taliban imposed strict restrictions on residents and deployed additional fighters to Abdullah Khil Valley, the sources said, according to Kabul Now.
The latest arrests add to a broader pattern of detentions and abuses in Panjshir since the Taliban returned to power in August 2021. Residents and human rights organisations have repeatedly reported arbitrary arrests, torture, extrajudicial killings and other abuses against civilians in the province.
Panjshir has remained a focus of Taliban security operations. The province became a stronghold of armed resistance groups after the Taliban takeover, particularly the National Resistance Front, which has continued to carry out attacks against Taliban fighters.
Human rights organisations have documented serious abuses by Taliban fighters in the province.
A 2023 report by Amnesty International detailed retaliatory violence against civilians, including arbitrary arrests, torture and killings, and said some of the violations could amount to war crimes.
