RASC News Agency: Informed sources in Herat province assert that 35% of the Taliban’s security forces in the western region of Afghanistan comprise elderly individuals. A reliable and knowledgeable source in Herat province, speaking to the RASC news agency on Friday, Mar 29, indicated that the ages of these individuals range from 45 to 60 years old, serving within the ranks of the Taliban. The source adds that these Taliban forces are active in various branches of the group and are occasionally rotated or replaced.
According to the source, among the Taliban members, older individuals are respected for their gray hair and advanced years. This source believes that a significant portion of the Taliban, serving in various capacities within the group, lack higher education. Furthermore, another source in Herat province confirms that 50% of Taliban forces are composed of individuals under middle age, while the other 50% consists of those described as having gray hair and older. The source adds, “One reason elderly individuals are held in higher esteem among members of this group is due to the sacrifices made by the youth over the past 20 years for the survival of the Taliban and their values, prompting the Taliban leadership to remember them kindly.”
The source further adds, “Taliban leadership grants significant privileges to the elderly who have sacrificed their family members, especially their youth, for the Taliban’s leadership to honor them, motivating other members of this group.” However, Farooq Haideri, a civil activist in western Afghanistan, confirms that elderly individuals are one of the fundamental pillars of the Taliban in Afghanistan, capable of guiding and managing the youth of this group. Haideri states, “Taliban leadership understands well that the youth of this group have persisted in the Taliban only out of respect and reverence for their elders, as many of these individuals have left the group due to the misconduct of senior Taliban officials.”
Meanwhile, Babak Rahatmi, an Afghanistan affairs expert, told the RASC news agency that power and wealth are currently in the hands of the Taliban group, regardless of whether the youth or elderly individuals are active within this group. He added that more than 15 to 20 million Afghans who are far from their homeland and soil have demanded the existence of the Taliban group, compelling many not to be in Afghanistan. Regarding this matter, we sought the opinions of Taliban officials in western Afghanistan, but none of these officials agreed to speak with the RASC news agency.
It is worth mentioning that conflicting reports about these issues have been raised in Afghanistan recently. From the perspective of the Taliban leadership, it should be noted that the presence of some elderly and gray-haired individuals among the members of this group has been a great blessing that has thus far greatly aided the power of this group.
