Documents Show that Taliban have Sought Fatwas for Summary Killing of former Afghan Officials
Zamaneh Media has obtained documents that show the Taliban leadership sought fatwas to punish former Afghan government officials, employees as well as armed forces. These include a fatwa to kill those who did not obey the religious law after the fall of the former Afghanistan government.
These documents show that the Taliban are trying to justify the summary killings of former government officials which has been documented by human rights groups.
On December 4, 2021, the United States with representatives of several European countries, Japan and Australia in a joint statement condemned the Taliban for killing former Afghan armed forces, including soldiers, police officers, and intelligence officials. The statement came after Human Rights Watch published a comprehensive 25-page report saying that “Taliban forces in Afghanistan have summarily executed or forcibly disappeared more than 100 former police and intelligence officers in just four provinces since taking over the country on August 15, 2021”.
Zamaneh Media has now obtained documents according to which the Taliban leadership has sought fatwas for these summary killings trying to justify the killings with the Sharia law.
In August 2021, after taking over Afghanistan, the Taliban leadership announce a “general amnesty” for anyone who had served with the previous government including the armed forces and those who had worked with the United States. However they gradually changed policy and they started targeting former armed forces, police, and intelligence officers; they even arrested army officials who had been retired for years.
