Taliban Government Faces New Challenge of Sexual Scandals in Afghanistan

After seizing power in Afghanistan in August 2021, video clips circulating on social media, which expose the sexual relations of Taliban officials, has become a new challenge for the group.

Recently, Afghanistan International received clips of indecent video calls of Qari Qadir, the Taliban commander, at the lapis lazuli mine of Badakhshan.

According to Afghanistan International’s sources, senior officials of the Taliban had been made aware of the video clips and hence, Qadir had been dismissed from his job.

The clips showcase, Qadir, who was the commander of the lapis lazuli mine in the Kuran and Munjan district of Badakhshan, conducting inappropriate video calls with a young girl. Afghanistan International has gained access to six separate video clips which capture a total of eight minutes of sexual conversation between this Taliban official and the unknown girl.

Afghanistan International couldn’t determine the exact time and location of these video calls and the TV station couldn’t broadcast these video clips due to inappropriate content.

After the Taliban senior officials accessed these video clips through their messaging apps, several commanders of the group harshly criticised it. Amanuddin Mansour, the former governor of Badakhshan and the commander of the 217 Army Corps of the group, during a public gathering in Badakhshan province, criticised Qari Qadir for misusing the Taliban’s weapons and vehicles.

In a video clip that has been trending on social media, in the presence of senior Taliban officials in Badakhshan, the commander of 217 army corps of the Taliban confirms that Qari Qadir “misused the vehicles and weapons of the government” and committed adultery with a married woman.

The former governor of the Taliban in Badakhshan said, "I am ashamed to talk to you about Qari Qadir’s wrongdoings from this stage."

He added, "He [Qadir] has committed adultery with the women and misused weapons and cars of the Islamic Emirate. His video clips are available with me and our intelligence chief."

Afghanistan International's sources from Badakhshan said that after the scandalous recordings of Qari Qadir were circulated among some Taliban officials in Badakhshan, the group removed him from the security command of the lapis lazuli mine in the province.

The sources added that Qair Qadir is currently staying in Badakhshan and has been freely moving around.

This is not the first time that controversial video clips of Taliban officials have been leaked to the public.

Earlier, Afghanistan International had broadcast a video clip which showed Mullah Ahmad Akhund, the Taliban-appointed director of electricity in Kabul, sleeping with his bodyguard.

Taliban officials refrained from commenting on the video after it was released, but the leader of the group fired Ahmad Akhund from his job and summoned him to Kandahar.

The Taliban usually have a strict attitude against the allegations related to the sexual relations of Afghan citizens. According to the Taliban laws, sexual relations outside of marriage can be punished by whipping, stoning, and execution.

However, in dealing with its officials, the group has only acted to remove them from their government positions.