KABUL: A damning report from an Afghan newspaper has alleged a systematic campaign of brutality by the Taliban against former military personnel of the former government, detailing extrajudicial killings, arbitrary arrests, and severe torture throughout 2025.
The investigation claims the Taliban government “brutally killed” more than 100 former soldiers last year. The report provides stark figures, alleging that 123 former military personnel were executed across 29 provinces. Furthermore, it states that 131 others were arrested in 20 provinces and subjected to what it describes as the “worst torture.”
The allegations depict a regime of extreme cruelty within Taliban detention facilities. Former soldiers are reported to have been tortured using electric shocks, hot rods, and steel cables. The report emphasizes that these arrests were overwhelmingly carried out without any judicial warrant, highlighting a complete disregard for legal process.
Fear has been instilled in the victims’ families as well. According to the newspaper, families of the affected former personnel admitted to being threatened by the Taliban with “serious consequences” if they dared to speak to the media about the atrocities.
These grave allegations find corroboration from the United Nations. The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) has confirmed ongoing patterns of extrajudicial killings, arrests, and torture perpetrated against former government officials, lending significant international weight to the report’s claims. The combination of this detailed local investigation and UN verification paints a harrowing picture of targeted retaliation and human rights violations, raising urgent concerns about the safety of thousands of former security force members left behind in Afghanistan.
Meanwhile Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi confirmed that the Pakistan-China friendship remains vital for regional peace, stability and prosperity, as the two sides co-chaired the 7th round of the Pakistan–China Foreign Ministers’ Strategic Dialogue in Beijing.
Furthermore, Foreign Minister Dar arrived in Beijing at the invitation of Wang Yi, primarily to lead Pakistan’s delegation at the strategic dialogue, which is considered the highest consultative mechanism between the two countries.
