80,000 Gathered To Witness Public Execution In Khost, Says Taliban

Abdul Mateen Qani, spokesperson for the Taliban’s interior ministry, made the comments on Monday during a virtual meeting with spokespersons for provincial governors and police commanders. He said a global “propaganda war” was underway and described the media as a fundamental pillar of modern societies, arguing that nations advance their wars and interests through information campaigns.

Speaking about the domestic situation, Qani said the Taliban now dominate Afghanistan after decades of instability and exercise absolute control over the entire territory. He said “no actor inside Afghanistan” remained capable of speaking independently.

Qani added that the only sector not yet fully under Taliban control was the press.

Since taking power, the Taliban have shut down independent media outlets and, over the past four years, have detained and imprisoned numerous journalists, cultural figures and civil society activists. The group has imposed extensive restrictions on freedom of expression and banned any form of criticism of its administration.

Fathullah Mansour, the Taliban’s deputy minister of transport and civil aviation, made the remarks on Tuesday at a graduation ceremony for more than 3,000 Taliban personnel in Kabul. He said the “current Islamic system” had been achieved at the cost of “the blood of hundreds of thousands of Afghans” and that safeguarding it was an obligation for both men and women.

Referring to past foreign interventions, including those by Britain, the former Soviet Union and US-led forces, Mansour said they were all defeated “through the sacrifices of the people,” adding that the Taliban’s system would also endure “through sacrifice and the use of talents.”

Although Mansour did not identify any specific group, his comments appeared to allude to a recent gathering of Taliban opponents in Pakistan. The two-day meeting, held on 29–30 September, brought together at least 30 political factions, civil-society activists, members of the former Afghan government and around 40 senior former Pakistani officials. Participants issued a joint statement saying peace and stability in both countries were interconnected and that the meeting had created an unprecedented consensus on their shared future.

Mansour’s remarks come amid sharply escalating tensions between the Taliban and Pakistan, which have at times led to deadly border clashes. Islamabad attributes a surge in domestic insecurity to Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and affiliated militant groups, which international reports say are based in Afghanistan and operate under Taliban protection.

The Taliban deny harbouring such groups, but documented evidence shows that several TTP leaders are present inside Afghanistan.

Muttaqi said the Taliban were prepared to help secure the border and take part in a joint investigation into the incident.

According to the ministry, Muttaqi told Muhriddin that a “climate of trust” had developed in recent months in the political, economic and security cooperation between the two countries, but that certain actors were attempting to undermine that progress and create tensions. The statement did not specify who those actors might be.

Muttaqi said strengthening border security, initiating a joint probe and improving coordination were part of the Taliban’s commitments. He called joint action against what he described as “malicious elements” an urgent requirement for regional stability.

At least two security incidents along the Afghanistan–Tajikistan border in less than a week have resulted in the deaths of Chinese nationals. China has confirmed that its citizens were targeted in an armed attack near the border on Sunday, and said three others were killed in another attack on Friday.

Tajikistan says the first attack was carried out by a drone that dropped grenades. Following the incidents, the Chinese Embassy in Dushanbe urged Chinese citizens in Tajikistan to immediately leave border areas. The embassy said five Chinese nationals had been killed and five others wounded in cross-border attacks from Afghanistan within a week.

No group has claimed responsibility.

Tajikistan’s Foreign Ministry said the most recent attack took place in the Shamsiddin Shohin district of Khatlon province, where the Chinese nationals had been working for a local company in southern Tajikistan.

According to the Taliban, he had been tried on charges of premeditated murder and was arrested in connection with the killing of Abdul Rahman, son of Zabit. The Supreme Court said the death sentence was upheld by Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada after the case was reviewed by three courts.

The Taliban said the victim’s family had been asked to grant forgiveness and accept reconciliation, but they declined.

Atiqullah Darwish, chief of the Supreme Court’s Criminal Division, was quoted by the Taliban-appointed provincial governor’s spokesperson as saying on X that this was the eleventh execution carried out under Taliban rule. He added that two other individuals linked to the same case have also received death sentences, but their executions have been postponed due to the absence of the victim’s heirs. He said both would be executed once the heirs are present.

The United Nations has repeatedly urged the Taliban to halt executions in Afghanistan, but the group has rejected those calls, insisting on enforcing what it describes as Islamic law.

Human-rights organizations say the Taliban’s judicial system fails to meet basic legal standards and that defendants are denied due-process rights, including access to legal counsel. The Taliban continue to impose routine public floggings across several provinces. The group also summons crowds to witness executions and corporal punishments, a practice critics describe as psychological intimidation aimed at instilling fear among the population.

The group says two Taliban members were killed, though a spokesperson for the ministry denied the claim and said the assault had been foiled.

In its statement, the AFF said the operation had been pre-planned and targeted a gathering of the Taliban’s morality police as they were leaving the building. It added that the fate of the head of the Taliban’s Vice and Virtue office in Maimana remained unclear.

The AFF accused the Taliban’s morality officers of assembling at the centre each day before patrolling the city in groups of three to five to harass residents, particularly women.

Meanwhile, the spokesperson for the Taliban’s Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue said in a post on X that an armed militant had attempted to attack employees of the Maimana office but was stopped before reaching his target. He gave no further details about the attacker or how the assault was prevented.

The AFF says it has previously targeted Taliban morality personnel in Kabul, Takhar, Kapisa and several other provinces.