Enforced disappearances of Taliban’s opponents rising in Afghanistan

Mohamed Youssri

The Taliban’s takeover of power in Afghanistan in August this year has given the international community serious concerns, against the background of the bloody history of the movement and its relations with radical groups.

The world is worried about how the Taliban will treat its opponents, especially those belonging to the former regime in Afghanistan.

Some international governments voiced out these fears early on. This was why the international community is slowly recognizing the Taliban government.

German warnings

On November 4, the German Foreign Ministry expressed concern over the repression experienced by some Afghan citizens.

Some people are also prone to killing and persecution after the Taliban’s takeover of power in Afghanistan, the Foreign Ministry said.

It added in a report published by the German News Agency that people in cities, as well as former government employees, suffer from a massive restriction of their basic rights and freedoms.

These people are afraid of reprisals, the Foreign Ministry said.

In some rural areas, it noted, people’s daily lives have not profoundly changed with the movement’s seizure of power.

It referred to reports of house searches, arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearances and executions, especially against political opponents of the Taliban and the representatives of the civil society and their families.

The Foreign Ministry noted that the German Embassy in Kabul had shut down its doors since the Taliban’s accession to power in August.

It referred to the closure of the consulates of many other countries.

Human rights                         

Come December, the fears of the international community became credible.

A spike was reported in enforced disappearances and extrajudicial executions in Afghanistan.

This prompted the US State Department to issue a joint statement with a number of countries to warn against this serious problem.

The countries issuing the statement with the US included Australia, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Denmark and Finland, as well as France, Germany, Japan, and the Netherlands.