RASC News Agency: Thousands of former Afghanistan military personnel, fleeing Taliban retribution, have sought refuge outside the country. However, due to the Taliban’s strategic dealings with neighboring countries, particularly Iran and Pakistan, these soldiers are being forcibly deported and handed over to the Taliban, who then execute them. The Taliban, utilizing their strong ties with terrorist groups in these neighboring states, have even orchestrated the assassination of former soldiers within those countries.
Those ex-military personnel who remain in Afghanistan report being denied the right to work in government institutions and are forced to live in hiding. They accuse the international community of forsaking them, despite their years of service alongside international forces in the fight against terrorism. They implore not to be abandoned in their time of need. The former police chief of Takhar province has made a desperate plea to the Islamic Republic of Iran, requesting asylum for these former soldiers, citing the imminent threat of mass executions and “ethnic persecution.”
Investigative reports from media outlets and international organizations reveal that, in under two months, the Taliban have detained 15 former soldiers across seven provinces and have executed six others in five provinces. The Taliban have conducted these detentions and subsequent tortures in the provinces of Bamyan, Ghazni, Parwan, Takhar, Badakhshan, Kabul, and Baghlan, with the current status of these individuals remaining unknown. According to these reports, four soldiers were detained in Takhar, three in Parwan, three in Badakhshan, two in Laghman, and one each in Bamyan, Ghazni, and Kabul.
Furthermore, the Taliban have executed six additional former soldiers in the past two months in the provinces of Khost, Sar-e Pol, Parwan, Badakhshan, Laghman, and Faryab. Some of these individuals had recently been deported from Iran and had no affiliation with any political groups. A human rights organization named “Tolerance” reported that, in the first half of 2024, there has been a significant rise in forced disappearances, arbitrary arrests, torture leading to death, and “cruel” and “inhumane” punishments meted out by the Taliban. According to this organization, arbitrary arrests have more than doubled, and disappearances have tripled compared to the same period in 2023. Last week, a terrorist group allied with the Taliban in Pakistan’s Balochistan province hanged several former Afghanistan security personnel.
