RASC News Agency: Over the past year, the Taliban have established numerous orphanages across Afghanistan, targeting orphaned, impoverished, and vulnerable children for indoctrination. Among these facilities is an orphanage in Ghazni, where the group actively trains children, shaping their beliefs and molding their futures in alignment with its radical ideology. During Afghanistan’s previous administration, countless civilians and military personnel fell victim to Taliban-led attacks. Today, the children of many of these victims are housed in Taliban-controlled orphanages, including the Ghazni facility, where they are reportedly subjected to ideological conditioning.
Sources reveal that the Taliban exploit these orphanages to instill their extreme beliefs in the children, educating them in warfare, jihad, the group’s version of Sharia law, and even preparing them for suicide missions. In December, Taliban-affiliated users on X (formerly Twitter) shared a video showing Mullah Yaqoob, the Taliban’s Defense Minister, visiting the “Ehsas” orphanage in Ghazni. In the footage, Yaqoob is seen interacting with children, some of whom kiss his hand in a display of reverence. According to the Taliban-run Huryat media outlet, Yaqoob underscored the significance of educating orphaned children and promised to provide resources to enhance their academic progress and future opportunities.
Other Taliban officials have echoed these sentiments, emphasizing their commitment to supporting children in orphanages. However, sources and critics argue that the Taliban’s real motive behind these orphanages is far more sinister. They claim that the group aims to create a new generation of supporters fully indoctrinated with the Taliban’s ideology. These children are raised under strict regulations, wear uniforms imposed by the group, and live within a rigid structure designed to shape their worldview. Observers contend that the mandatory uniforms and strict regimens are indicative of the Taliban’s attempt to impose their ideology on the next generation, turning these children into loyal adherents. Critics believe the Taliban are systematically grooming these children to become “dedicated fighters” who will serve as the backbone of the group’s future operations.
In the past year alone, the Taliban have reportedly established dozens of such orphanages in provinces like Panjshir, Takhar, Badakhshan, and others. This growing network of facilities has intensified fears of a deliberate and systematic effort to weaponize Afghanistan’s most vulnerable children in the pursuit of their extremist agenda.
