The Taliban have arrested 16 young men in Kandahar for raising Afghanistan’s republic era black, red and green national flag during a private Independence Day gathering, local sources said.
The arrests took place on Thursday, as residents marked the 106th anniversary of Afghanistan’s independence. Participants had also displayed a portrait of King Amanullah Khan, who is remembered for securing the country’s sovereignty from Britain in 1919.
According to sources, Taliban intelligence forces detained several of the youths for posting photos of the national flag on social media.
A Kandahar resident, speaking on condition of anonymity, said: “Our youths had done nothing hostile. They only raised the flag that symbolises Independence Day. The Taliban arrested them as if they had committed a grave crime.”
Witnesses said Taliban agents accused the detainees of being “agents of infidels” and “hypocrites” during the arrests. Some of the youths were later released after their families provided written guarantees, but others remain in custody, sources said.
Since seizing power in August 2021, the Taliban have annulled Afghanistan’s 2004 constitution, which recognised the tricolour with the state emblem as the official national flag. The group has replaced it with its white banner, which it has raised across government institutions.
Over the past four years, the Taliban have also removed images of King Amanullah Khan from public spaces and repeatedly detained young people for displaying the former national flag at public events.
