Taliban order crackdown on “miscreants” tainting their reputation by performing acts of violence on general public. The Taliban Defense Minister, Yaqoob said on Friday through an audio message that these notorious soldiers who have joined the Taliban units are the culprits committing violent abuses discrediting Taliban.
The Taliban’s new defense minister has issued a rebuke over misconduct by some commanders and fighters following the movement’s victory over the Western-backed government in Afghanistan last month, saying abuses would not be tolerated.
They are “notorious soldiers” not Taliban
Mullah Mohammad Yaqoob, the new Afghan defense minister said in an audio message that some “miscreants and notorious former soldiers” had been allowed to join Taliban units where they had committed a range of sometimes violent abuses.
“We direct you keep them out of your ranks, otherwise strict action will be taken against you,” he stated. “We don’t want such people in our ranks.”
The message from one of the Taliban’s most senior ministers underlines the problems Afghanistan’s new rulers have sometimes had in controlling fighting forces as they transition from an insurgency to a peacetime administration.
Some Kabul residents have complained of abusive treatment at the hands of Taliban fighters who have appeared on the streets of the capital, often from other regions and unused to big cities.
There have also been reports of reprisals against members of the former government and military or civil society activists, despite promises of an amnesty by the Taliban.
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Taliban order crackdown on “miscreants” and stay firm on their amnesty pledge
Yaqoob said there had been isolated reports of unauthorized executions, and he repeated that such actions would not be tolerated.
“As you all are aware, under the general amnesty announced in Afghanistan, no mujahid has the right to take revenge on anyone,” he said.
It was not clear precisely which incidents he was referring to, nor what prompted the message, which was published on Taliban Twitter accounts and widely shared on social media.
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Reports of tensions as new Afghan government formulates
There have been reports of tensions within the movement between hardline battlefield commanders and political leaders more willing to seek compromise with governments outside Afghanistan. Taliban order crackdown on “miscreants” who are marring the credibility and standing of the new governing power in the eyes of Afghan population. The defense minister added that these miscreants are also creating stumbling blocks in their new rule .
Yaqoob also said patrols should be restricted to areas where they were assigned and criticized the fondness of some fighters for going into government offices where they had no business and taking selfies.
“This is highly objectionable as everyone is taking out mobile phones and taking snaps in the important and sensitive ministries without any reason,” he said. “Such hanging out and taking snaps and videos will not help you in this world, and also in the hereafter.”
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Reuters with additional input from GVS International Desk