RASC News Agency: Local sources from Baghlan province report that the Taliban have detained two individuals in a continued crackdown on the region’s residents. According to these sources, the Taliban have escalated arrests in the province over the past two weeks. In the latest incident, two residents of Puli Hisar district, identified as Tawakkul and Mohammad Sadiq, were apprehended. On Thursday, January 23, the Taliban reportedly detained these individuals in Taghank village, Puli Hisar district, and subsequently transferred them to Pul-e-Khumri, the provincial capital of Baghlan. A source familiar with the situation stated that both Tawakkul and Mohammad Sadiq had been engaged in personal pursuits since the fall of the previous government and had no affiliation with any opposition groups.
This incident follows a troubling pattern of Taliban targeting residents of Baghlan, particularly those from Andarab. Over the past three years, the group has persistently abducted and imprisoned individuals from the region. Just last week, six more individuals were reportedly detained in different parts of Baghlan province. A recent investigative report revealed that over the past three years, the Taliban have abducted and imprisoned 5,500 residents of Andarab. The Taliban often justify these detentions by accusing the victims of collaborating with the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan or the Freedom Front, or of opposing their regime. Those detained frequently face torture and other forms of inhumane treatment.
Since their takeover of Afghanistan, the Taliban have arrested hundreds of residents from Baghlan, with many of these individuals subsequently executed. Human rights organizations have previously reported mass killings by the Taliban in Andarab, underscoring the ongoing human rights crisis in the region.
