It is alleged that the Taliban carried out some arbitrary executions in Afghanistan. As a matter of fact, the Afghan press asserts that in some cities Taliban elements have carried out armed raids on various houses and forcibly collected money from the public. This leads to critical comments that the Taliban is abusing its position. The Secretary General of the United Nations (UN) Antonio Guterres also reminded that the Taliban declared a general amnesty after dominating Afghanistan, noting that 100 people working in the security agencies of the ousted regime were killed by Taliban members despite the amnesty decision. Taliban officials, on the other hand, denied Guterres’ statements and have made it clear that they are against arbitrary arrests and persecution, stressing that they do not act out revenge.
At the first stage, the Taliban leaders followed a policy based on denying allegations that the forces affiliated with it had committed human rights violations and called for their soldiers to be treated well in public. In this context, Taliban Defense Minister Mullah Yakoob Mujahid warned that Taliban elements should stick to the amnesty and stated that they would punish those who violated the amnesty. But despite the denials of the Taliban rulers and their indoctrination of their fighters, this policy has not been successful. Therefore, the Taliban has started to follow a new method.
In this context, the Taliban stated that the fall of Kabul was an unexpected development, stating that some people had joined the ranks of the Taliban during this process, and said that these people, who had not previously been affiliated with them, had taken actions trying to discredit the Taliban.
At the end of the day, increasing criticism both nationally and internationally against the powers which is bounded to the Taliban has pushed the organization to decide on internal cleansing. Following this decision, the Taliban has formed the “Commission of Purge the Ranks” on 13th October 2021. The commission has been constituted by the representatives of the Defence Ministry of Taliban, the Internal Ministry of Interior and the intelligence department with the decision of the Taliban’s Leader, Molla Hibetullah Ahundzade. The leadership of the commission has been announced as Head of the Intelligence Department of Taliban and the main task of the commission is the purification of people, who has an ambiguous relationship with the Taliban, and who has corruption and misconduct in their records. In this context, the commission informed that people who comply with this definition would be suspended from the Taliban.
Chairman of the Commission, Mufti Latifullah Hakimi, has clearly stated that such an internal cleansing is needed for the survival of the Taliban administration and that the necessary purges will be carried out. Hakimi also has emphasized that they are decisive in solving the purity issue. After that, the commission has announced that thousands of Taliban elements were investigated, and, in this regard, necessary steps were taken.
Hakimi declared that the commission determined the crimes of 4350 people as a result of filing reports by the public and the investigations of the Taliban and that all criminals were disengaged from the Taliban, except for 130 people under the age of 18, at his press conference on the subject.
The commission’s future is planned to lasting according to Hakimi’s expression. Finally, Hakimi has paid attention to the fact that the expelled people used military equipment and vehicles for their own interests and that their relations with the terrorist organization Devlet al-Iraq and al-Sham (DEAS) were determined.[1]
The Taliban not only detract abusers from their ranks; it also investigates people who held high-level positions and were involved in corruption during the deposed regime. In this framework, the following statements by the Deputy Prime Minister of the Taliban, Abdul Ghani Baradar, are extremely significant:[2]
“In our negotiations with the United States of America (USA), the USA has demanded that we form a coalition government with some officials of the overthrown regime. But due to our unwillingness of the discretion of our government because of a few corrupt people, we have not been accepting this demand.”
As this development signifies, the Taliban has adopted a sensitive attitude to issues such as corruption and abuse of power and demonstrated its stance on this matter with the formed commission. It is possible to claim that this process will contribute to the international legitimacy of the Taliban.
what is more to the point is the Afghani people is welcoming the Taliban’s elimination of people who abuse their power and oppress the people, and not assign jobs to those who are corrupt in the old regime. Thus, the Taliban’s policy of purifying the ranks is a significant step which would strengthen the organization’s relationship with the public.
As a result, the Taliban has turned to a process of internal cleansing. Despite the internal characteristic of this process, it also includes the corruption of the overthrown regime. This process, on the other side, will open the gate for those who will take part in Afghanistan’s future to establish healthier relations with the public. Further, the policy of purging the ranks may be the beginning of a process that strengthens the Taliban’s ties with the Afghani people.
[1] “پایان کار کمیسیون تصفیه صفوف طالبان؛ چهارهزار و ۳۵۰ طالب «نامطلوب» اخراج شدند”, Khaama Press, https://www.khaama.com/persian/archives/97623, (Date of Accession: 21.02.2022).
[2] “ملا برادر: با چهرههای مفسد دولت قبلی؛ نظام طالبان را بدنام نمیکنیم”, Jomhor Nesw, http://www.jomhornews.com/fa/news/146411/, Date of Accession: 21.02.2022).
