RASC News Agency: Reliable sources have confirmed to News Outlets that the Taliban have orchestrated a widespread campaign of mass arrests in Dawlatabad district of Faryab province, detaining scores of local residents amid escalating public unrest. The protests erupted on the second day of Eid al-Adha following a violent altercation among local youths, reportedly triggered by allegations of harassment and abuse against young girls an incident that ignited longstanding frustrations and galvanized the community into open resistance. Initially, Taliban forces detained several youths directly involved in the clash. However, the detentions sparked widespread outrage, culminating on Monday, June 9, when hundreds of residents assembled in defiance outside the Taliban’s security headquarters, demanding the immediate release of the detainees.
Video footage and eyewitness accounts reviewed by local sources depict demonstrators vocally opposing Taliban rule, chanting slogans such as “Long Live Dostum” a direct challenge to the Taliban, invoking the name of former Afghanistan’s Vice President and prominent ethnic Uzbek leader, General Abdul Rashid Dostum. Some protesters reportedly penetrated the compound of the Taliban’s police headquarters, an extraordinary act of defiance under a regime notorious for crushing all opposition with ruthless efficiency. In retaliation, the Taliban escalated their response with a second, more aggressive wave of arrests. This crackdown has extended beyond protest participants to include prominent community figures and suspected sympathizers, signaling the regime’s intent to eradicate any semblance of organized opposition. Reports indicate that Taliban operatives, frequently disguised in civilian attire, have intensified patrols throughout Dawlatabad, systematically hunting for individuals linked to the protests.
Sources describe the district as effectively under siege, with many families remaining confined to their homes in fear of arbitrary detention or violent reprisal. In what appears to be a deliberate tactic to instill terror, Taliban units have initiated door-to-door raids, reminiscent of their infamous campaigns of repression elsewhere in Afghanistan. “No one feels safe anymore,” a local resident told Local sources, requesting anonymity for safety reasons. “The Taliban are arresting people simply for raising their voices or standing up for justice.” The precise number of detainees remains uncertain. Estimates range from around 35 according to Taliban sources, to as many as 100 as reported by independent observers highlighting the regime’s habitual opacity and the likely underreporting of the true scale of repression.
This latest crackdown exemplifies the Taliban’s entrenched authoritarianism and their growing intolerance of dissent, particularly in ethnically diverse northern provinces such as Faryab, where communities historically resist Taliban hegemony. Human rights advocates warn that peaceful protests are met with disproportionate violence and that the Taliban employ widespread surveillance, intimidation, and arbitrary arrests to suppress all forms of political expression. Since seizing power, the Taliban have systematically dismantled any vestige of an independent judiciary or civil society, ensuring no mechanisms exist to protect citizens’ fundamental rights. Those detained often vanish into a clandestine system of incarceration, denied access to legal counsel or family contact, while Taliban intelligence operatives maintain pervasive control over local populations through coercion and fear.
What began as an outcry over an incident of gender-based harassment has been transformed into a broader flashpoint illuminating the Taliban’s ruthless strategy to quash dissent and maintain a stranglehold on power. For the people of Dawlatabad and countless others across Afghanistan, this serves as a stark warning: under Taliban rule, demands for justice and basic human rights are met with brutal repression, and collective punishment remains the regime’s primary tool of governance. The international community’s silence and tacit acquiescence embolden the Taliban’s ongoing campaign of terror. Without sustained global pressure and concrete action, Afghanistan’s fragile hopes for peace and human dignity will continue to be crushed under the iron fist of the Taliban’s despotic rule.
