In an audio clip leaked on social media, Sirajuddin Haqqani, the Taliban's interior minister, has confessed to the coldblood killings. Haqqani said that he constantly talked of amnesty for the people, but "someone [Talib] comes out and kills a person at a checkpoint”.
The Taliban had announced general amnesty two days after taking over Afghanistan on August 15, 2021. According to the Taliban’s amnesty, none of the Taliban members have the right to arrest, harass and torture the former employees, including members of the armed forces of the previous government.
However, so far, many people have been murdered in targeted killings, most of whom have been soldiers of the previous government.
The Taliban has always denied claims that they have killed soldiers of the previous government after taking power in Afghanistan, but it is for the first time that one of the most senior Taliban leaders has confessed to the targeted killings of Afghans by the Taliban members.
It is, however, not clear when and where the Taliban interior minister delivered the speech.
Haqqani, who according to the leaked audio clip, is speaking in an apparent meeting with some Taliban commanders, stressed, "We will reform our selves, you promise that you will reform yourself. We will not embarrass each other, and you will not bother the Muslim nation unnecessarily."
He added, "I shout that it's safe and there's amnesty, but still, someone rises up and kills someone at a checkpoint. All my words [about general amnesty] are [proven] to be lies.”
Haqqani also criticised some other aspects of Taliban commanders’ behaviour, including their demand for supplies. He said, "We used to call out during difficult times that we need to organise [get fighters] for Nangarhar, Kunduz, and Mazar-e-Sharif; how many people could be found? No one. But today, they are coming and asking for supplies for 2,000 people or 1,000 people.”
He then added, "For God's sake, I bring wheat and grains from Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, and Iran for you to eat. So, you too have a little pity."
Haqqani’s comments about Taliban’s breaking of general amnesty comes at a time when the United Nation Assistance Mission (UNAMA) also emphasised in its first report on the human rights situation that the Taliban has not implemented the general amnesty decree of the group’s leader.
In its report, UNAMA said that it had recorded at least 160 extrajudicial killings of former government and security officials by the Taliban between August 15, 2021, and June 15, 2022.
