The Islamic Emirate denied a New York Times “Opinion Video” claiming hundreds of killings and disappearances of former Afghan security forces have occurred since the Islamic Emirate came to power.
A spokesman for the Islamic Emirate said that such reports are intended to create mistrust between the people and government.
The New York Times reported that nearly 500 former government officials and members of the Afghan security forces were killed and disappeared in several provinces during the first six months of the Islamic Emirate government.
The report claimed that the Islamic Emirate has not remained committed to the general amnesty and has sought revenge against some former Afghan security forces.
According to the report, many of those killed were from the southern province of Kandahar and northern province of Baghlan.
The report listed other provinces where alleged killings and disappearances have happened: Kabul, Nangarhar, Herat, Uruzgan, Badakhshan, Takhar, Khost, Helmand, Balkh, Ghazni and Kunduz.
The report included interviews with families of the victims.
“My father was a hero. I saw my father in the morgue and his face was pale as snow. My heart felt like it was on fire. The Taliban’s only goal is to kill, and everyday their revenge campaigns intensify,” said a victim’s son.
“They started beating me and threw me in a water well, while telling me, ‘you have fought against us for so many years and killed so many of our best people’. I really believed that they were going to kill me,” said a former security officer who was allegedly tortured by the Islamic Emirate. “So many of my fellow soldiers were also thrown into the water well. These brutalities still continue to this day.”
Analysts gave their views on the topic:
“Maybe their comments have some truth. But the international community and Afghans must not forget that when the Islamic Emirate came to power there was a major change in Afghanistan and we have faced a lot of problems and will still have some problems,” said Andar, a political analyst.
“An investigation was conducted and interviews were made with the families. It is an accurate investigation. If this investigation is further confirmed, it is dangerous. No one will trust the Taliban, especially the former security forces, they will find a way to get out of the country,” said Aziz Marij, a military analyst.
The Islamic Emirate denied the report and said that such reports are intended to create mistrust between the people and the government.
“The report of the the New York Times is absolutely baseless in this regard. It is not true, and biased. It aims to create mistrust between the government and people of Afghanistan. There was no such things, in fact,” said Inamullah Samangani, deputy spokesman for the Islamic Emirate.
However, many human rights watchdog groups have reported killings of former Afghan security forces, and the Islamic Emirate has denied the reports.