Residents, former members of Afghanistan’s military and security forces, and local sources in Ghazni, Maidan Wardak, Bamyan and Daikundi provinces report a renewed campaign of pressure by the Taliban against former government military personnel and their families, including efforts to identify and document their current whereabouts, occupations and personal circumstances.
According to multiple local sources, Taliban authorities and intelligence personnel have recently instructed mosque imams, village elders, influential community figures and local representatives in several districts to compile detailed lists of former members of Afghanistan’s military and security forces and submit those lists to Taliban military and intelligence units.
The reported campaign has particularly affected the districts of Jaghori, Nawur and Malistan in Ghazni; Behsud in Maidan Wardak; several districts of Bamyan; and districts across Daikundi. Sources say the information being sought includes the names of former military personnel, their current occupations, places of residence and other details that could enable the Taliban to locate and monitor them.
The reports have generated significant fear among former military and security personnel, many of whom have remained in Afghanistan following the collapse of the previous government and have attempted to rebuild their lives under extremely difficult economic and security conditions. Local residents and former security personnel say the compilation of lists has intensified an already precarious situation. They report that former soldiers, police officers and other security personnel have faced repeated questioning, arrests, intimidation, humiliation, torture and demands for weapons or money.
Some families have reportedly also been subjected to pressure because of the previous service of their relatives. In several cases, family members are said to have been arrested or mistreated, while former personnel have allegedly been compelled to obtain weapons and surrender them to Taliban authorities as a condition for their release.
A former police officer from Jaghori district in Ghazni, speaking on condition of anonymity because of security concerns, described a pattern of repeated arrests and financial pressure. “Our hardships keep growing. I’ve been arrested twice in the past five years.”
According to the former officer, during one detention he was allegedly forced to purchase a weapon and hand it over to district authorities. During a subsequent arrest, he was accused of possessing a weapon and again ordered to surrender one. He said that, despite his family’s severe economic difficulties, money equivalent to the cost of a Kalashnikov was ultimately required to secure his release. The former officer said other former members of the security forces in the area had experienced similar treatment, including periodic detention and alleged torture.
He also expressed uncertainty over the purpose of the newly compiled lists. “We’re from this area, so we know what’s happening. They asked the local elders for our names. We already spend our days doing hard labor out of sheer necessity, and we’re grateful even for that. Now I don’t know what’s coming, or what this list is for.”
Sources in Ghazni’s Nawur and Malistan districts separately confirmed that Taliban intelligence personnel have summoned mosque imams and community elders and instructed them to prepare lists of former military and security personnel as quickly as possible. In Daikundi, local councils and mosque representatives have reportedly undertaken similar efforts in recent days following instructions from Taliban intelligence officials.
The use of community-level figures to gather information has caused additional concern among residents, who fear that information collected through local networks could be used to identify, monitor or detain former military personnel and their relatives. For many former members of the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces, the development is particularly alarming because they remain economically vulnerable and have limited access to legal or institutional mechanisms through which they can challenge arbitrary detention or harassment.
The reported campaign comes amid a broader deterioration in the security environment, with armed attacks by anti-Taliban groups reportedly increasing in a number of Afghan provinces in recent weeks, particularly in northern parts of the country. The increased activity appears to have heightened Taliban concerns about the possibility that former military and security personnel could join or establish armed resistance networks. Those concerns have reportedly extended into Afghanistan’s central, predominantly Hazara-populated areas.
Approximately two weeks ago, according to local sources, dozens of Taliban fighters were deployed to border and strategically sensitive areas of Ghazni, Maidan Wardak and Bamyan. The fighters reportedly remained on heightened alert and conducted searches and questioning of residents. Residents said Taliban personnel harassed members of local communities during this period while seeking information about former military personnel and possible links to armed opposition groups.
After several days of searches, house-to-house inquiries and questioning, the deployed forces reportedly withdrew from some of the areas. The subsequent effort to compile lists of former military personnel has nevertheless renewed fears that the earlier security operations may have been connected to a broader intelligence-gathering campaign.
The pressure has not been limited to former members of the military and security forces themselves. Local sources say relatives of former personnel have also been subjected to questioning, intimidation, detention and other forms of pressure. In some cases, families have reportedly been pressured to locate former members, provide information about them, or assist in securing their return to Afghanistan.
The case of Mohammad Rahmani, a resident of Daikundi’s Sang-e Takht wa Bandar district and a former military member who left Afghanistan following the collapse of the previous government, has drawn particular attention. Rahmani recently published a video on social media describing the alleged treatment of his elderly father by Taliban fighters. According to Rahmani, his father has been detained at least ten times. Rahmani said he believes the repeated pressure on his father is intended to force him to return to Afghanistan, where he fears he would subsequently face arrest and detention.
In his appeal, Rahmani called on Taliban leaders to end the harassment of former military personnel and their relatives and to uphold the general amnesty the Taliban have repeatedly pledged to respect.
The reported developments have renewed longstanding concerns over the implementation of the Taliban’s general amnesty. Following their return to power in August 2021, Taliban authorities repeatedly announced that former members of the Afghan government, military and security institutions would not be targeted for their previous service and that a general amnesty would be respected. Despite these assurances, the Taliban have repeatedly faced allegations of arbitrary detention, torture, enforced disappearance and extrajudicial killing involving former members of the Afghan security forces.
The Taliban have denied systematic violations against former military personnel and have maintained that their general amnesty remains in effect. However, international organizations, including the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), as well as human rights organizations, have documented cases involving the killing and mistreatment of former government security personnel since the Taliban takeover.
The reported collection of new lists therefore raises serious questions about whether former military personnel are once again being systematically identified and monitored in parts of central Afghanistan. For many former military personnel who remained in Afghanistan after 2021, daily life has already been marked by unemployment, poverty, insecurity and fear of detention. Many have abandoned their former professions and now rely on manual labor or other informal employment to support their families. Some say they deliberately avoid public activity and maintain a low profile in an effort to reduce the risk of being identified by Taliban authorities.
The renewed effort to collect information about their identities and whereabouts has nevertheless left many uncertain about what may follow. Residents in Jaghori, Nawur, Malistan, Daikundi and other affected areas say they fear that the lists could facilitate further arrests, interrogations or other forms of pressure. The concerns are particularly acute among families whose relatives previously served in the police, army or other security institutions of the former Afghan government.
The reports underscore the need for the Taliban authorities to ensure that former military and security personnel and their families are protected from retaliation, arbitrary detention, torture and other forms of mistreatment. Any collection of information concerning former security personnel should be conducted transparently and within a lawful framework, with safeguards against the use of such information for persecution or collective punishment. The Taliban leadership should also provide clear assurances regarding the purpose of the reported lists and publicly clarify whether local officials and community representatives have been instructed to collect such information.
Independent monitoring is equally important. International organizations and human rights bodies should continue to document allegations of arbitrary detention, torture, forced disappearance, extrajudicial killing and other abuses against former government personnel and their families.
The reports emerging from Ghazni, Maidan Wardak, Bamyan and Daikundi point to growing anxiety among former Afghan military and security personnel who fear that renewed efforts to identify and document their whereabouts could expose them and their families to further harassment and detention. The reported orders to mosque imams, village elders and local representatives to compile lists of former military personnel come at a particularly sensitive moment, as Taliban authorities face growing concerns about armed opposition activity in different parts of the country.
For residents who have already endured years of economic hardship, repeated arrests and insecurity, the renewed campaign has deepened uncertainty about their future. The central issue remains whether the Taliban’s stated commitment to a general amnesty will be upheld in practice.
Former military personnel and their families are calling for an end to intimidation and collective pressure, respect for their basic rights and security, and meaningful guarantees that their previous employment will not be used as grounds for persecution. Any further escalation of pressure against former security personnel risks deepening fear and mistrust within affected communities and could further undermine confidence in the Taliban’s public assurances regarding reconciliation and amnesty.
