RASC News Agency: Reports from Herat province in western Afghanistan indicate that the Taliban group has recruited several women to deceive men, particularly enticing them into extortion schemes. An informed source in Herat province, speaking conditionally on anonymity to a RASC News Agency reporter on Friday, Feb 2, stated that Taliban operatives have coerced certain women to lure specific men into security areas and detention centers under various pretexts.
The source also reveals that some lower-ranking Taliban forces extort substantial sums from trapped individuals to secure their release. According to the source, payments for individuals’ freedom range from 10,000 to 100,000 kabuli Rupees, Afghanistan’s common currency. The source adds that all received funds are divided among several designated individuals within the relevant areas.
Believing that one source of income for Taliban members in Herat province is similar to that of criminal government employees, they engage in such inhumane and un-Islamic acts. The source further elaborates that if senior Taliban figures become aware of these incidents to prevent media exposure, they remain silent. The mentioned source states that the Taliban group has always claimed to want to eradicate corruption from society through their own methods, yet reports indicate their inhumane and un-Islamic actions have tarnished all religious and legal principles.
The source adds that while some Taliban members claim they aim to earn income and rid corruption from among the people, they themselves engage in acts such as inhumane and un-Islamic practices. Nevertheless, some residents of Herat province in western Afghanistan confirm that certain individuals within the markets of this province indirectly display some unnatural behaviors, indicating collaboration with the Taliban group. Jalil Ahmad, a resident of Herat province, tells RASC News Agency that from salt sellers to people within alleys, they fully cooperate with parts of the Taliban network.
He adds that since the Taliban’s rise to power in Afghanistan, the number of collaborators has indefinitely increased, reflecting support for Taliban security forces. Most of these collaborators are also Pashto-speaking, following the Taliban’s plans under the guise of collaboration. Meanwhile, Akram Lutfi, a civil activist in Herat province, tells RASC News Agency that according to reports, some collaborations exist between Taliban members and certain sources in this province concerning various corruptions, especially moral corruption.
He adds that Taliban sources include women and men who coordinate in sections related to drugs, alcohol, moral corruption, and others, to achieve the group’s goals sooner. Moreover, Youssef Mohebi, an informed individual in western Afghanistan, confirms that during Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai’s government, the fleeing country’s president, all government office employees, especially those in the National Security, Criminal, Anti-Terrorism, Intelligence, Drug, Traffic, Transport, and Oil departments, have left numerous instances of various corruptions as a legacy.
He adds that Taliban individuals have now openly or covertly engaged in such actions and profit from this path. Taliban commanders reportedly pay certain percentages to specific individuals operating in the mentioned sectors.
