A member of the European Parliament has criticised the Taliban’s newly issued penal code, saying it legitimises gender apartheid and the enslavement of women and girls, and argued that normalising relations with the group is unacceptable.
Hannah Neumann wrote on X on Wednesday that accountability for Taliban actions was overdue, adding: “No normalisation with the Taliban!”
The penal code has prompted a wave of domestic and international reactions. Stéphane Dujarric, spokesperson for the UN secretary-general, has urged the Taliban to repeal discriminatory laws and decrees.
Pakistan’s Council of Islamic Scholars has also said the Taliban’s penal code was not drafted in line with Islamic teachings and is “contrary to the Quran and Sunnah”.
The Taliban’s Ministry of Justice has warned that objections to the group’s laws would be treated as a crime and that critics would be referred to judicial authorities.
The code, signed by Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada, includes provisions that critics say fail to criminalise the beating of children, recognise slavery, criminalise dancing, define Sunnis as Muslims while labelling others as heretics, and allow the killing of Taliban opponents.
The 24-year-old, an employee of Afghan Wireless Telecom company, lived in the Dasht-e-Qargh area along the Kokcha River in Faizabad. A source said the bullet entered behind Amiri’s ear and exited through his forehead.
He continued breathing for several minutes while lying on the ground. A nearby child noticed him and ran to alert others.
A source said Taliban intelligence forces arrived minutes after the shooting but delayed taking Amiri to hospital in their vehicle, saying it was not theirs. He was eventually transported in the same vehicle but died on the way.
The perpetrator remains unknown. Less than a month later, on January 22, two other Ismaili residents, relatives of Amiri, were shot inside a shop about 50 metres from where his wounded body had been found.
Local sources accuse the Taliban of failing to conduct serious investigations into extrajudicial killings. Residents say Ismailis in Badakhshan have been systematically targeted since the Taliban returned to power.
Taliban authorities often classify such incidents as ordinary criminal cases. Documents from the Taliban-controlled National Statistics and Information Authority, obtained by Afghanistan International, show nearly 6,660 killings were registered as criminal offences between 2021 and 2024.
The Taliban seized power in August 2021. Crimes recorded in the first five months of that year occurred under the previous government.
Over the past four years, Taliban officials have repeatedly claimed to have established nationwide security. Taliban data, however, also show a rise in criminal activity alongside dozens of deadly attacks.
Crime up 60 Percent
Figures published in November 2025 by the Taliban-controlled statistics authority, based on Interior Ministry data, show criminal cases, particularly murder and theft, have risen sharply.
Total criminal cases reached 17,320 in the solar hijri year 1403 (March 2024–March 2025), up from 10,834 in 1400 (March 2021–March 2022). The figure rose to 12,688 in 1401 and 16,186 in 1402, reflecting an overall increase of about 60 precent since the Taliban’s return.
Despite high security spending and claims of stability, crime has continued to rise. The World Bank previously reported the Taliban spent about 96.9 billion afghanis on security in the first nine months of fiscal year 2025.
Murders and Kidnappings
Between March 2024 and March 2025, 1,734 criminal murders were recorded, compared with 1,502 between March 2021 and 2022, an increase of more than 15 percent.
Kidnappings have also persisted. On January 20, four armed men abducted Mohammad Dawood Hoshmand, a 63-year-old doctor, near his home in Kabul’s Khair Khana area. A week later, his family said they had no information about his fate.
Afghanistan International also published CCTV footage showing a veiled woman abducting a three-year-old child in Mazar-e-Sharif. Taliban police later said the child was recovered and a suspect arrested.
Official data show 224 kidnappings were recorded between 2021 and 2025. While Taliban authorities have announced the rescue of some victims, the fate of many remains unknown.
Theft Doubles
The statistics authority reported 6,225 thefts between March 2024 and March 2025, compared with 3,102 between March 2021 and March 2022, a 100 percent increase.
Residents say theft is widespread, especially at night. Fatima, a Kabul resident who requested anonymity, said people cannot walk safely despite Taliban claims of security.
Bismillah Taban, former head of criminal investigations at the Interior Ministry, said theft has risen even in provinces previously considered safe. He said most weapons are now held by Taliban members, yet crime continues to grow.
A Kabul resident said: “In 20 years of the republic, I lost one phone. Under Taliban rule, two were stolen.”
Insecurity in Herat
Afghanistan International reported seven people were killed in Herat in one week, including a mobile money changer, two young men on the Herat–Karukh road, a teenage street vendor, a man in District 11 and two targeted killings in the city centre.
Residents say Herat has become increasingly unsafe, with limited accountability and many killings linked to armed robberies.
Questioning ‘Nationwide Security’
Taban said the Taliban dismissed trained professionals and replaced them with clerics and explosives specialists, arguing the group lacks both the capacity and intent to protect civilians.
He said many crimes go unreported due to fear and mistrust, and questioned the reliability of Taliban statistics, saying they are heavily censored and incomplete.
Afghanistan International has previously published investigations and video confessions showing Taliban members’ involvement in targeted extrajudicial killings in several provinces.
Human rights organisations have reported bodies found in eastern regions, disappearances of young men in northern Kabul, killings of Ismailis for religious reasons and systematic targeting of former Afghan security personnel.
Families of victims often blame the Taliban, but the group routinely denies responsibility. For nearly four and a half years, Taliban spokespersons have refused to answer media questions about targeted killings or to disclose investigative and judicial processes.
