In a shocking display of alleged abuse of power, Taliban police in Afghanistan’s Ghor province have detained at least 80 people during a recent crackdown in Pasaband district, citing connections to narcotic crop cultivation. However, local sources and detainees claim the arrests were arbitrary, with many of the imprisoned men having no direct link to poppy farming.
The operation was led by Noor Agha Haidar, the Taliban’s police chief for Ghor, during his visit to the district. Witnesses and detainees say they’ve been held for up to two weeks without formal charges, legal representation, or access to basic necessities.
In a disturbing video obtained by Afghanistan International, the detainees appear jammed into a single room measuring just five by three metres — a space so cramped, sources say, that “there’s not even room to pray.” The video reveals the deplorable conditions, with inmates reportedly deprived of adequate food and water.
Some of those arrested were travellers from Helmand province, while others were simply collecting firewood or performing routine labour in the area when swept up in the mass detention.
While the Taliban’s police command has remained silent on the allegations, it did confirm that Noor Agha Haidar oversaw the destruction of multiple poppy fields during his visit — a campaign that, critics allege, served as a cover to target opponents or individuals suspected of anti-Taliban sentiment.
Human rights observers and locals fear that these mass detentions signal a broader trend of repression under the guise of anti-narcotics enforcement, raising urgent concerns about abuse, torture, and lack of due process in Taliban-controlled regions.
