RASC News Agency: Local sources in Panjshir have reported to RASC that the Taliban detained 50 young men from the Abdullah Khil Valley on Saturday, March 15, transferring them to an undisclosed location. According to the sources, these individuals had gone to the Abdullah Khil mountains for a traditional skiing event but were apprehended by Taliban forces on their way back. As of now, no information is available regarding their fate or the reasons behind their arrest.
This latest crackdown comes just a week after the Taliban detained five other Panjshir residents and took them to an unknown location. Over the past three years, the Taliban have repeatedly arrested civilians in Panjshir, often without disclosing any charges. Many detainees have been held for extended periods with no legal proceedings or clarity on their alleged offenses. Local residents have long accused the Taliban of conducting ethnically motivated and arbitrary detentions in the province. Since their takeover, hundreds of Panjshiris have reportedly been imprisoned under dubious circumstances.
Rahmatullah Nabil, former head of Afghanistan’s National Directorate of Security (NDS), has condemned these actions, stating that the Taliban specifically target Panjshir residents based on their Tajik ethnicity. He stressed that over the past three years, hundreds have been detained most of them innocent and with no links to any crimes. Additionally, the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan recently issued a statement claiming that thousands of Panjshir residents have been languishing in Taliban prisons for the past three years, further highlighting the ongoing repression in the province.
