Taliban Leader Reshuffles Governors & Security Officials

Hamdullah Fitrat, the Taliban’s deputy spokesperson, said in a statement posted on X on Thursday that the executions were carried out in the provinces of Farah, Nimruz, Badghis and Khost after court rulings and approval by the Taliban leader. He said the punishments were imposed under the principle of retribution, or qisas.

According to the figures released by Fitrat, Taliban courts flogged 1,118 people over the past year on charges described as “un-Islamic acts”. These included drug trafficking and use, theft, sodomy, adultery, the use of counterfeit currency, illicit relationships and highway robbery.

Fitrat also said Taliban courts reviewed 241,799 criminal and civil cases during the year.

International organisations repeatedly condemned executions and public punishments carried out by the Taliban in 2025, particularly public floggings.

The United Nations has called for an immediate halt to what it described as inhuman punishments, including executions and corporal punishment. The UN special rapporteur on human rights in Afghanistan, Richard Bennett, has said public executions violate international human rights standards and has urged an end to the use of the death penalty.

In statements issued throughout 2025, Amnesty International criticised what it described as injustice, the absence of clear legal frameworks and the lack of fair trial guarantees, calling for increased diplomatic pressure to end rights-violating judicial practices in Afghanistan.

In its 2025 reports, Human Rights Watch warned of intensified repression and widespread violations of fundamental rights under Taliban rule, describing the judicial system as a tool of repression.

Since returning to power in August 2021, the Taliban have executed at least 12 people in the provinces of Farah, Laghman, Ghazni, Jowzjan, Badghis and Nimruz, often in public and in the presence of large crowds.

The most recent execution took place in Khost province in December 2025, according to Taliban officials.

According to the court, a primary court in Balkh also sentenced the man to one year and 10 months in prison.

The Taliban describes public flogging as the “implementation of sharia” law and routinely carries out corporal punishment against individuals convicted by its courts.

A recent report by the United Nations found that over a three-month period between August 1 and October 31, 2025, the Taliban publicly flogged at least 215 people across several provinces. Those punished included 44 women and 171 men.

Despite sustained opposition from international organisations to corporal punishment, torture and intimidation, the Taliban have continued to enforce public floggings since returning to power.

In comments to Afghanistan International on Wednesday, the department said Khalilzad is not a US government employee and that his recent activities are carried out in a personal capacity.

The Taliban’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Sunday that Khalilzad, the former US special envoy for Afghanistan, had arrived in Kabul and met Muttaqi.

After the meeting, Muttaqi said that engagement between the Taliban and the United States had effectively entered a new phase following the withdrawal of foreign forces and the end of the war in Afghanistan.

The Taliban’s decision to receive Khalilzad at the level of foreign minister suggested the group views him as a potential intermediary, relying on his experience and contacts to help improve relations between the Taliban and Washington.

However, the US State Department dismissed such assumptions. Speaking to Tajuddin Soroush, a reporter for Afghanistan International, a spokesperson said Zalmay Khalilzad is not an employee of the US government and therefore does not represent it.

The spokesperson added that all of his activities are undertaken in a personal capacity.

Khalilzad has previously travelled to Afghanistan with US officials to help secure the release of American prisoners held by the Taliban.

According to the Taliban, Muttaqi told Khalilzad that opportunities exist in several areas to expand relations between the two sides and that sustained dialogue could help advance those efforts.

According to documents obtained by Afghanistan International, the order, issued by the Taliban commission, targets contracts held by Katawazai and his business partners and marks the latest move by the authorities against figures associated with the former Afghan government.

The letter, dated December 31 and signed by Abdul Hakim Sharae, head of the Taliban’s Commission for the Prevention of Land Grabbing, accuses Katawazai of corruption, land grabbing, and involvement in drug, gold and foreign currency smuggling.

The document instructs the Oil and Gas Directorate to immediately cancel all lease and investment contracts with Katawazai and his partners and to submit a report on the actions taken to the commission. It further states that all Taliban departments are required to cooperate fully in implementing the order.

According to the letter, all contracts concluded with Katawazai, as well as those involving his sons, brothers, cousins and other partners, must be annulled. It also says an arrest warrant has been issued for Katawazai and that he is now under judicial pursuit.

Last year, the Taliban arrested 20 associates of Katawazai on charges of “forging land documents,” according to sources. They said the arrests were carried out on the orders of the Taliban’s justice minister and that the individuals were transferred to prison.

Reports indicate that Katawazai has close ties to Sirajuddin Haqqani, the Taliban’s interior minister, and to figures linked to that faction within the Taliban. Abdul Hakim Sharae is regarded as an opponent of Haqqani and is believed to have sought to curb the financial networks and influence associated with him.

Passengers told Afghanistan International that although they had already paid large sums for Pakistani visas and air tickets, airport officials demanded an extra $150 per person to allow them to leave the airport. Those who refused to pay were sent back to Kabul.

According to the passengers, eight Afghans arrived from Kabul on a flight to Islamabad on Tuesday, December 30. Despite possessing valid documents, they were barred from exiting the airport. The group said each passenger had spent about $1,200 to obtain a Pakistani “medical visa,” while the market price of a non-urgent return ticket to Pakistan is about $500.

They said ticket agents also demanded about $150 per passenger as an “airport pass” to permit exit from the terminal. Because they did not pay this amount, the passengers were held for several hours and ultimately returned to Kabul on Wednesday morning.

The passengers said they arrived at the airport at about 1 p.m. on Tuesday, but officials later declared their medical documents “not genuine” and refused them entry. During their time at the airport, they said they were not allowed to buy food or water.

Passengers said dozens of Afghans holding medical visas are reportedly turned back from Islamabad airport each day after document checks. Those affected alleged that Pakistani officials were engaging in extortion, arguing that only passengers who paid the additional fee were allowed to exit the airport.

They also questioned why the Pakistani embassy in Kabul had issued medical visas if their hospital documents were deemed invalid, a question they said airport officials ignored.

Women and children were among the eight passengers returned to Kabul. One Afghan family of three said they had spent about $5,500 on plane tickets and visas but were still denied entry and sent back.

Other passengers reported that the cost of an urgent Pakistani visa and ticket can reach nearly $2,000. One Afghan man undergoing cancer treatment said he paid $720 for an urgent Kabul–Islamabad ticket to secure a seat within four days, compared with a normal waiting period of at least three weeks. He said he also paid $160 to exit the airport.

A passenger who was returned to Kabul on Wednesday said Pakistani officials treated the group in a “humiliating” manner and dismissed their explanations. He added that many passengers carry similar hospital documents, but only those who pay the so-called airport pass are permitted to enter Pakistan.

The allegations come despite tourist visas for Afghans being officially listed as free of charge on the Pakistani embassy’s website in Kabul. Passengers said, however, that this option is effectively inaccessible, forcing applicants to rely on travel agencies that charge what they described as exorbitant fees.

The Taliban administration has set the official price of a Kabul–Islamabad flight ticket at $140 and has said it will take legal action against violators. Passengers, however, said Taliban authorities are aware of the soaring ticket prices for flights to Pakistan but have taken no effective action.

The flight from Kabul to Islamabad takes about 40 minutes. Passengers said fares on the route now exceed the cost of some flights between Afghanistan and Europe.