Residents of Panjshir province say that the Taliban are torturing relatives of members of the National Resistance Front (NRF) and are forcing them to leave their houses and villages.
Ahmad, who used a pseudonym to speak to Zan Times, says his family was among those forced to flee. Although he has nothing to do with the resistance front, Ahmad says that the Taliban beat him and took his house because his cousin is a member of the NRF. Now living in another city, he says, “When my cousin was killed along with [NRF commander] Khwaja Malik in Dara district of Panjshir, the Taliban identified all our relatives and beat us. They dragged us out of our houses and we left with only a handful of clothes.”
According to Ahmad, the Taliban has turned the homes of some of his family into military installations.
Another source confirms the persecution, torture, and forced migration of the residents of Abdullah Khel village in Dara district because their relations are believed to be NRF fighters and says that the Taliban are building their military bases in the houses of the villagers.
Dara district and, in particular, Abdullah Khel village have been at the centre of recent clashes between the Taliban and the resistance forces. Human rights organizations have repeatedly expressed concern about the violation of human rights in Panjshir and have demanded the cessation of Taliban military operations in this province. Recently, videos of the Taliban executing prisoners of war were shared on social media.
