Taliban Publicly Flog 16 People In Four Afghan Provinces

The Taliban’s Supreme Court said its primary courts have publicly flogged 16 people in the provinces of Parwan, Kabul, Kunar and Balkh, imposing corporal punishment alongside prison sentences.

In statements issued on Monday, the Taliban Supreme Court said those punished received between 10 and 39 lashes each and were also sentenced to prison terms ranging from one year to three years and one month.

According to the court, 12 people in Parwan province were flogged on charges related to buying and selling drugs. In Kabul, one woman was punished on charges of extramarital relations, while one man in Balkh province received the same punishment on similar charges. In Kunar province, two people were flogged after being convicted of sexual relations between men.

Since returning to power in August 2021, the Taliban have reinstated public corporal punishment, including floggings and executions, under decrees attributed to their leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada.

Human rights organisations, the United Nations and several governments have repeatedly condemned the use of public corporal punishment in Afghanistan, describing it as a violation of international human rights standards.

The Taliban, however, defend the practice, saying the punishments are carried out in accordance with their interpretation of Islamic sharia law.

Taliban Believes In Political Participation, Says Baradar

Jan 4, 2026, 17:28 GMT

Abdul Ghani Baradar says the Taliban believe that political and economic participation is essential for Afghanistan’s progress and claims that strong participation has existed during the group’s four years in power.

However, the Taliban’s deputy prime minister for economic affairs said the current political power structure is “stable and balanced” and that opposition movements have been eliminated.

Speaking on Sunday, at a turban-tying ceremony at a religious school in Kandahar, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar claimed that during four years of Taliban rule there has been “strong participation” and that public satisfaction has increased through administrative transparency, economic infrastructure development and the provision of public services. He said the current political authority has been kept “stable and balanced” and that parallel and opposing political groups have disappeared.

The Taliban official also said Afghanistan is now politically and economically a safe country for investment.

The remarks come despite the Taliban banning the activities of political parties and all forms of civil activism. Previously, the Taliban’s Ministry of Justice declared political activity under the name of parties illegal, and a day later dissolved the Political Parties Directorate within the ministry and dismissed its staff.

Before the fall of the previous government, more than 72 political parties were officially registered in Afghanistan.

Since returning to power, the Taliban have excluded political and social groups from the structure of power and allocated government positions to their own members. The group has accused former government officials and former jihadi leaders of collaborating with foreign forces, while claiming that its government is inclusive.

Critics say the suppression of dissenting voices, the absence of independent institutions and the arrest of political and civil activists show that there is no genuine space for political participation in the country. Over the past four years, reports have emerged of arrests, torture and mistreatment of media critics and human rights activists.

Alongside these restrictions, the Taliban have also largely excluded women from social life. The group has barred women and girls from secondary schools and universities, from working in many institutions and from participating in social and civic activities. These measures have drawn strong reactions from the international community and human rights organisations and are widely seen as excluding half of Afghan society from meaningful participation in the country’s future.

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