Taliban Launches Recruitment Drive Along Pakistan Border

According to the UNAMA report, released on Tuesday, 28 July, Taliban officers detained Afghan citizens mainly for failing to follow the group’s dress code, trimming beards in a Western style, and playing or listening to music.

The report also referred to the detention of at least 30 women in Herat for failing to observe the Taliban’s required dress code.

The United Nations also said the killing of former Afghan security forces continued. It documented the killing of eight former Afghan soldiers over the past three months and recorded 29 cases of arbitrary arrest and detention between 1 April and 30 June this year.

The Taliban also carried out corporal punishments against dozens of citizens across Afghanistan during the same period. According to UNAMA, the Taliban administration publicly flogged at least 137 people, including 112 men and 25 women.

UNAMA’s quarterly report was released on Tuesday, 28 July.

In its section on media freedom, the report said the Taliban halted educational programmes broadcast by Lmar Radio in Khost province on 11 April, citing what it called a failure to comply with the approved curriculum.

According to the report, the Taliban’s General Directorate of Intelligence ordered Radio Bamyan to suspend operations on 17 May over allegations that it lacked a valid broadcasting licence. The station resumed operations six days later.

UNAMA also noted that Rah-e-Farda Television resumed broadcasting on 21 June after changes were made to its leadership.

The report said at least seven radio stations in Kunduz and Ghazni provinces were unable to continue operating because they could not meet financial obligations and other requirements for obtaining the necessary licences.

It also documented attempts by Taliban officials to seize mobile phones, cameras, computers and documents from a media office in Kabul, as well as the detention of three journalists in separate incidents.

According to UNAMA, two of the journalists were released after several days, while another was freed after being summoned and questioned.

UNAMA also reported restrictions on the use of smartphones by government employees.

Following the order, some local departments confiscated and destroyed employees’ personal phones and stopped posting information on social media platforms such as Facebook.

In its latest report, UNAMA said the Taliban’s Vice and Virtue authorities, working with several other bodies, had begun closing Ismaili Jamatkhanas (sacred spaces for prayer) in Badakhshan in January and ordered worshippers not to use them for prayer.

According to the report, Taliban officials said the buildings should instead be used as mosques.

The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan released its quarterly report covering April to June on Tuesday.

The restrictions affected 17 Jamatkhanas in Zebak district, 14 in Ishkashim and two in Wakhan.

In response to UNAMA, the Taliban’s Foreign Ministry said field assessments showed that conditions differed from one Jamatkhanas to another and that decisions had been made on a case-by-case basis.

The Taliban said some areas lacked mosques and that some Jamatkhanas were being used as residential buildings.

UNAMA also reported that during Ashura observances, the Taliban instructed Shia communities in Parwan and Logar provinces to hold ceremonies only in designated mosques.

The mission also confirmed that 45 Shia men were detained in Kabul for displaying Ashura flags.

The quarterly report, published on Tuesday, 28 July, said six women were killed and 34 others wounded during the clashes.

It also recorded casualties among 112 children, including 31 killed and 92 wounded.

UNAMA released the report as part of its quarterly assessment of the human rights situation in Afghanistan.

According to the report, air strikes and ground clashes were the main causes of civilian casualties during the period. UNAMA said all the casualties were recorded along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border.

The report said the highest numbers of civilian casualties occurred in Paktia and Paktika provinces during Pakistani air strikes on 28 June, and in Kunar province as a result of shelling between 27 and 29 April.

UNAMA said Paktia, Paktika and Kunar recorded the highest civilian casualty figures during the reporting period.

The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, or UNAMA, released its latest quarterly report on the country’s human rights situation on Tuesday. The report covers the three-month period from April to June 2026.

During this period, UNAMA documented at least 29 cases of arbitrary arrest and detention, five cases of torture and ill-treatment, and eight killings of former members of the Afghan National Defence and Security Forces and officials of the former government.

UNAMA stressed that former government officials and former Afghan security and defence personnel who are forcibly returned to the country continue to face a serious risk of human rights violations after their return.