Image: Reuters Berita 24 English - In the ten months since they gained control, the Taliban have been accused by the United Nations mission ...
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| Image: Reuters |
Berita 24 English - In the ten months since they gained control, the Taliban have been accused by the United Nations mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) of carrying out extrajudicial executions, torturing prisoners, making arbitrary arrests, and administering cruel punishments.
According to a UNAMA investigation, the groups targeted for the breaches included journalists, human rights advocates, and people connected to the overthrown administration. It claimed that women's rights had also been diminished.
In a statement, UNAMA expressed alarm about the seeming impunity with which members of the de facto government appear to have committed human rights breaches.
The Taliban regime, which seized control of Afghanistan in August of last year following the withdrawal of international soldiers and the collapse of the elected government, is referred to as the "de facto authorities."
The results of the report were dismissed by a spokesman for the Taliban regime as being without merit.
Zabihullah Mujahid stated on Twitter that extrajudicial executions and arbitrarily detaining people were prohibited. According to him, anyone found responsible for such offences will be treated as a criminal and prosecuted in accordance with Sharia law.
Retaliation assaults, according to Taliban officials in the past, were not authorised by their leadership, and militants were forbidden from carrying them out. They added that they have started a process to rid their ranks of personnel who did not strictly adhere to directives.
The statement acknowledged "substantial reductions in armed violence" and actions made by Taliban authorities that appeared to be geared at defending human rights, but it also stated that authorities also bear responsibility.
The General Directorate of Intelligence and the Ministry of Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice were two organisations specifically highlighted by UNAMA as having played a part in violations.
According to the research, people connected to the prior administration and its security personnel were the ones who suffered the most.
It cited 178 arbitrary arrests, 160 extrajudicial executions, 56 cases of torture, and ill-treatment of former government personnel.
173 journalists and media professionals also suffered from human rights breaches, 163 of which were attributable to Taliban authorities. These violations included 122 arbitrary arrests and 33 incidents of threats.
The UNAMA emphasised the weakening of women's rights as well.
Women's and girls' rights to fully engage in education, the workforce, and other facets of public and daily life have been gradually curtailed, and in many cases altogether removed.
Since the Taliban took control, UNAMA has counted 2,106 civilian casualties, including 700 fatalities and 1,406 injuries. A local branch of the violent Islamic State organisation was blamed for the vast majority.
