Taliban Allegedly Uses Torture to Force Arms Purchases in Afghan Provinces
Reports indicate that Taliban forces are coercing individuals in the provinces of Daykundi and Bamiyan into purchasing weapons through torture. Detainees are facing abuse based on unfounded allegations.
Taliban Coerce Residents of Daykundi and Bamiyan to Buy Weapons
Alarming reports out of Daykundi and Bamiyan reveal that Taliban intelligence personnel in these areas are detaining several local residents on baseless charges and subjecting them to severe torture. These arrests are primarily taking place in the Sheikh Miran area of the Ashtarlai district in Daykundi, and in the first district of Yakawlang in Bamiyan province.
Eyewitnesses and relatives of victims report that the Taliban are inflicting horrific, medieval-style torture, such as suffocation with plastic, to force detainees to make false confessions about possessing weapons, while many of them do not have any weapons at their homes.
Extortion and a System of Torture
The situation becomes even more tragic as local sources reveal the systematic extortion by the Taliban. According to eyewitness accounts, after extracting forced confessions, the group compels innocent individuals to buy the required weapons in cash directly from the Taliban, which they then have to hand over to the intelligence office of the group as ‘deliveries.’
Some of the names of detainees in Daykundi include Rahmat, Sarwar, Rahmatullah, Hashim, Ali, Abdulazim, and Abdulraouf, who have been in custody for the past two weeks.
Fruitless Protests
The crisis is also severe in Yakawlang, Bamiyan, where dozens of residents have been arrested and tortured over the past month on unfounded allegations. When local elders sought justice by appealing to Taliban district chief Hikmat Hussain Mujahid, he expressed his inability to support them due to the influence of senior Taliban officials over the district’s intelligence chief, stating that this matter was beyond his jurisdiction.
This response illustrates the complete disregard for law by local security institutions and the helplessness of citizens seeking justice.
