The Taliban are continuing a campaign of intimidation marked by arbitrary arrests, torture, and extrajudicial killings of former government officials and soldiers, despite repeated assurances of a “general amnesty,” the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said in a damning report released Tuesday.
The UN mission documented 14 killings of former members of the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) between July and September 2025, alongside 21 cases of arbitrary detention and several incidents of torture. These findings, UNAMA said, reflect “a sustained pattern of retribution and abuse” under Taliban rule. “The evidence points to ongoing, deliberate targeting of individuals associated with the former government a clear breach of the Taliban’s stated commitment to amnesty,” the report said.
UNAMA reported that Taliban security units have increasingly targeted former soldiers returning from Iran, detaining several men without charge or due process. On September 29, in Faryab province, members of the Taliban’s counter-terrorism unit arrested a group of returnees shortly after they crossed back into Afghanistan. Their whereabouts remain unknown.
Human rights monitors warn that such actions are intended to instill fear among ex-officials living abroad and discourage repatriation. The report details the Taliban’s intensified moral policing campaign, which saw at least 451 people arbitrarily detained for so-called “moral offenses” including listening to music, trimming beards, and failing to adhere to Taliban dress codes. At least 44 detainees suffered mistreatment, including beatings and public humiliation. Most were released after signing written pledges to obey Taliban edicts.
Between July 16 and 19, the morality police detained around 60 women and girls in Kabul for allegedly violating strict hijab regulations. They were freed only after male relatives signed written guarantees of compliance. “These actions amount to gender-based persecution and collective punishment,” the UN report warned.
UNAMA said the Taliban have also targeted religious minorities and individuals accused of violating religious doctrine. In July, a Taliban court in Paktika province sentenced one man to death for alleged blasphemy a punishment rarely reported since the group’s return to power.
In Badakhshan province, Taliban authorities have been pressuring Ismaili families to convert to the Sunni Hanafi interpretation of Islam. In the districts of Nusai, Shakai, and Maimai, Ismaili parents were reportedly forced to enroll their children in Sunni madrassas or pay fines of 20,000 to 100,000 Afghanis (roughly $250–$1,260). Such coercion, UNAMA said, constitutes a violation of the right to freedom of religion guaranteed under international law.
The report also highlights the worsening conditions for Afghan journalists, particularly women. Many face financial collapse, restrictions on reporting, harassment, and the constant threat of detention. Several media workers have been interrogated for covering social issues or speaking to foreign outlets.“The space for independent journalism in Afghanistan continues to shrink,” UNAMA stated. “Women journalists are disproportionately affected many have been driven out of the profession altogether.”
The Taliban have not issued an official response to the UN’s latest findings. The group has previously dismissed reports of rights abuses as “Western propaganda” aimed at discrediting its rule. UNAMA urged Taliban authorities to end arbitrary detentions, cease targeting former officials, and investigate reports of extrajudicial killings.
“The ongoing pattern of violence and repression reflects a deepening climate of fear across Afghanistan,” the mission concluded. “Without accountability, human rights abuses will remain entrenched and impunity will prevail.”Since seizing power in August 2021, the Taliban have imposed strict social restrictions, rolled back women’s rights, curtailed media freedom, and reintroduced public punishments. Despite international pressure, the group continues to operate largely beyond the reach of oversight, while Afghanistan faces a worsening humanitarian and human rights crisis.
