RASC News Agency: The Taliban’s Ministry of Information and Culture has dispatched a delegation to Bagram Prison formerly under the control of the previous Afghanistan government to collect and archive the personal accounts of their imprisoned fighters. The delegation visited Bagram on Wednesday, engaging with prison officials to discuss the documentation of Taliban members’ experiences. In an official statement, the ministry confirmed that Hamdullah Saeed, head of the Department for the Preservation of Historical Values, led the delegation. During the visit, he held discussions with prison authorities regarding the collection and preservation of historical records related to the Taliban’s incarcerated forces.
The ministry emphasized that the delegation has been tasked with documenting and safeguarding the narratives and artifacts of Taliban fighters who were once detained in Bagram. For two decades, Bagram served as the largest U.S. military base in Afghanistan and the broader region. It also housed a notorious prison where high-risk detainees including members of the Taliban, Al-Qaeda, and ISIS were held. However, following the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan from Ashraf Ghani’s administration and the subsequent withdrawal of American forces, the composition of Bagram’s prison population drastically shifted. Reports indicate that non-Pashtun prisoners now make up the majority, with thousands of young Tajiks allegedly detained on charges of collaborating with resistance and freedom movements.
This development echoes a controversial statement once made by former Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani, who remarked: “Ninety-eight percent of prisoners belong to a single ethnic group (Pashtuns); this is not fair.” Today, the equation has reversed. The contrast between the Pashtun prisoners of the past and the Tajik prisoners of today is striking while the former were largely detained for waging war against civilians, often arrested with suicide vests, the latter are reportedly fighting for justice, equality, freedom, and the dignity of Afghanistan.
