Taliban militants (file photo)

8am: For years, the Taliban repeatedly denied torturing or humiliating prisoners in their detention facilities. An audio document obtained by the Hasht-e Subh Daily challenges those claims. In the recording, a local Taliban official openly confirms that Taliban intelligence tortures detainees and carries out arbitrary arrests. The document reveals that many people are detained and abused without any formal charges, often because of internal plots and rivalries within the group. At the same time, local officials voice anger over the arrest of several foreign fighters and say they feel deeply disillusioned with the current regime. They also criticize Taliban clerics who serve as judges and muftis, saying that while they fought on the battlefield, salaries and privileges now go to clerics who arrived from Pakistan. The report shows that many local Taliban feel alienated by ethnic discrimination and by financial and intelligence abuses inside the system. Click here to read more (external link).