8am: Previously, the Middle East Research Institute (MERI) reported that of the 1,137 senior Taliban officials, 891 were Pashtun, 53 Tajik, 28 Uzbek, and 6 Hazara. According to this research, 40 of the top-tier Taliban Supreme Leaders, including the Supreme Leader, prime minister, and ministers of defense, higher education, education, culture, rural development, labor and
8am: The Taliban, too, claim to enforce God’s Sharia and incessantly speak of Islam and Islamic law. Yet, their actions practically fulfill the aspirations of ethnonationalists, achieving their goals and dreams. It is no coincidence that some ethnic nationalists sympathize with the Taliban, ecstatic that political and military power has fallen into their hands. The
Afghanistan International: Richard Bennett, the United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur on Human Rights, in his new report said that some “credible sources” testified about sexual harassment and rape of women inside Taliban prisons. Bennett added that he was deeply concerned by the numerous reports of sexual violence against women inside the Taliban’s prison. The United
8am: In their efforts to spread their ideology among the Pashtuns, the Taliban have killed many tribal leaders and intellectual youths. During the republic era, the National Security Council published a book titled “Thousands of Crimes”, documenting the Taliban’s killing of tribal leaders and intellectual youths, most notably in Kandahar. It is evident that if
8am: Many Uzbek citizens in Afghanistan argue that the Taliban’s ethnic biases have excluded them from political power, denying them a meaningful role in national decision-making. They criticize the Taliban’s mono-ethnic regime, which they claim has failed to provide any significant benefits to Uzbeks over the past three years. Instead, they say, the Taliban have
8am: Recent intelligence indicates potential connections between Khorasani and the Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP). Video evidence and social media posts suggest his unit includes former ISKP operatives, raising suspicions of a strategic pivot toward this rival group. His vocal criticisms of the Taliban’s ethnic policies and the emerging power struggle within its ranks further
Khaama: The former Taliban district governor of Ahmadabad in Paktia province, Abdul Hamid Khorasani, says that when everyone in Panjshir was against the Taliban, he stood against his own “ethnic group” and supported the Taliban. Abdul Hamid Khorasani stated that now the leadership of the Taliban is in the hands of “one ethnic”, and others
Afghanistan International: The Taliban has disarmed and imprisoned one of their Tajik commanders in the Chah Ab district of Takhar province. Local sources told Afghanistan International that Haji Ghulam Hussain had been arrested six days ago, and 350 of his forces had been disarmed. Bashir was a former commander of the Hizb-e-Islami who later joined
8am: Since the Taliban’s takeover on August 15, 2021, the group has become increasingly audacious and confident in its assaults on the fundamental rights of the citizens of Afghanistan. From the severe suppression of women’s protests and widespread violations of their rights to imposing severe restrictions on the rights of ethnic and religious minorities, the
Afghanistan International: Abdul Hamid Khorasani, a Tajik commander of the Taliban, says that the behaviour of the “Emirate’s leadership” towards non-Pashtun Taliban members is like that of “prisoners of war, slaves, and servants”. Khorasani stated, “This is not an Islamic Emirate, but rather an ethnic Emirate of the Kandahari and Zadran tribes.” According to him,