Taliban Commander Wants To Flee Afghanistan
A Taliban intelligence official told India Today, an Indian media outlet, that he wants to flee Afghanistan under the pretext of illness.
A Taliban intelligence official told India Today, an Indian media outlet, that he wants to flee Afghanistan under the pretext of illness.
India Today did not name the Taliban official, reporting that he was a "teacher" and taught girls before the group's takeover again.
The Taliban official said that he wants to migrate with his family to Türkiye, Tajikistan, Syria or any country that gives him shelter. The commander said that he would migrate to any country where he can find a job.
The Indian media outlet wrote that the Taliban commander tried to flee Afghanistan several times, but his wife prevented him from doing so. According to the outlet, the commander's wife is religious and has no interest in fleeing the country.
India Today wrote that the Taliban commander taught girls as a teacher before the group's takeover of Afghanistan and the collapse of the previous Afghan government. Before the Taliban came to power, he prepared for a change and grew a long beard.
"I already had a hint of their arrival. I grew a beard, started preparing the girls so that they don't get disheartened about having to stay at home all of a sudden. But the most disturbing thing in this was that I was going to enforce these rules and regulations myself in the future. With the fall of the (Ashraf Ghani) government, I became a part of the Taliban. A commander of their intelligence department," he added.
As a Taliban commander, his job now is to monitor whether people were joining Al Qaeda or the Islamic State or were not in cahoots with any other terrorist group. Regarding his duty, he said, "My duty is to spy and punish those who conceal. I don't punish myself, but my subordinates do. If the crime is big, we need to inform the higher authorities, then they will decide. That's what we get paid for."
"From the soldier who brings me tea to the soldier who opens the car door, anyone can spy and get a reward in return," he told India Today, adding that if he does not leave Afghanistan, he will be in danger along with his family.
"If ordinary people make mistakes, they will be imprisoned. But if we as officials commit a crime, the penalty is death," he added.
As for how Taliban commanders are selected, he said that the group's administration checks the background of individuals, but "ethnic prejudice" is decisive.
Earlier, German media outlets had reported that a number of dangerous Islamists were also brought to Germany from Afghanistan during the German evacuation programme.
