Former US Deputy Secretary of State Uzra Zeya urged Washington to honour commitments to Afghan allies, ease restrictive refugee and resettlement policies, restore humanitarian aid and ensure Afghan women have a role in US policy.
Speaking on Tuesday at a National Endowment for Democracy event on Afghanistan, Zeya said the country is experiencing one of the world’s most severe human rights crises.
Citing reports of extrajudicial killings, torture and the use of children in conflict, she said Afghan women have been pushed out of society, education, the workforce and public life, but continue to fight for their rights and social participation despite mounting pressure.
The former US official said the efforts of Afghan women, journalists, judges and human rights defenders must be supported.
Zeya also stressed the need for continued support for Afghan civil society. She called for Afghan women to be fully included in US policy towards Afghanistan, saying the experience of the Doha agreement showed that excluding women from peace negotiations harms the peace process.
She also criticised pressure by the US government on the International Criminal Court, describing the court as the only available avenue for holding Taliban leaders accountable and pursuing allegations of “gender apartheid” in Afghanistan.
Ryan Crocker, a former US ambassador to Afghanistan, has warned that continued neglect of Afghanistan could have negative consequences for US and global security, citing the lessons of the 1990s.
Crocker made the remarks on Tuesday during an event at the National Endowment for Democracy.
The former US ambassador stressed that developments in Afghanistan are not merely a domestic issue but are closely linked to regional and global security.
Crocker said the United States had already seen how ignoring Afghanistan in the 1990s damaged its national security and expressed hope that the same mistake would not be repeated.
He added that continued engagement with Afghanistan and support for Afghans working in human rights, education, independent media and civil society remain important.
Return to Darkness
Crocker strongly criticised the Taliban’s record over the past five years, saying the group had sought to take Afghanistan back to a dark age.
The former US diplomat said even more troubling than the restrictions themselves was an effort to re-engineer Afghan society. According to Crocker, the Taliban are seeking to create an order based on the subservience of women and dominance of men, in which an unelected emir rules through arbitrary decrees.
Crocker described the current situation in Afghanistan as dark times, but said the Afghan people remain the greatest source of hope for the country’s future.
Reflecting on his experience in the years immediately after the fall of the first Taliban government, he said Afghanistan today, unlike in 2001, has an educated population, with many people familiar with the values of political participation, civil society and free and independent media.
He said that the Taliban will not be able to break that spirit today either.
He also recalled the period immediately after the fall of the first Taliban government, saying that when he travelled to Kabul to reopen the US Embassy, Afghanistan had been devastated on a vast scale.
The event was attended by several former US diplomats, civil society activists, journalists and Afghan political figures based in the United States.
Participants discussed the situation of women and girls under Taliban rule, human rights restrictions, the state of independent media and Afghanistan’s political future.
Families of some prisoners say they face complex procedures and lengthy waits to visit relatives held at Bagram prison. They say Taliban military court approval is required and can sometimes take months.
Many prisoners at Bagram are former members of the security forces who, according to their families, are being held in difficult conditions and under severe restrictions.
Families told Afghanistan International that in addition to long waits and travelling from distant provinces, there is no suitable place at Bagram prison for visitors to wait or speak with their relatives.
Mohammad Akram, a relative of a prisoner at Bagram, said visits are not easy to arrange.
“Families of prisoners at Bagram cannot easily visit their loved ones; sometimes we must wait for months. There is no authority other than the military court from which we can obtain permission for a visit,” he said.
According to him, once the Taliban military court issues permission, relatives travel to Bagram, but they still have to wait for hours before the visit and face severe restrictions and harsh treatment by Taliban personnel.
Haji Sardar Mohammad, who travelled from Kandahar to Kabul to visit his imprisoned son, said he had spent about a month in the capital trying to obtain permission.
“I am an elderly and sick man. I came from Kandahar to Kabul and have been away from home for more than a month, going from one office to another. I have also run out of money. I wait from morning until evening to get permission, but no clear answer is given,” he said.
The families say the situation is particularly difficult for elderly people, women, children and those who are ill, especially during hot and cold seasons.
Some relatives of prisoners also complained about harsh treatment by Taliban personnel when they are taken into the prison.
They said black bags are placed over their heads and they are moved from a designated area to the meeting room while unable to see anything.
Baryalai, a relative of one prisoner, said a black bag was placed over his head when he went to visit his younger brother before he was taken to the meeting area.
“When they covered my head with a bag, I was deeply affected. I felt as if I were a serious criminal. We do not know why we are treated this way,” he said.
Families also say that visits take place under close Taliban supervision and that because of the security presence, they cannot speak freely about prisoners’ health, their cases, family problems or other personal matters.
Relatives say they do not object to necessary security measures, but are calling for a clear and orderly visitation system, a shorter approval process and suitable facilities for people who must wait for long periods.
They also want clear information about visiting times, permits, required documents and other conditions so that families are not forced to spend months moving from one office to another.
Although no new figures have been released on the number of people held in Taliban prisons, United Nations information showed that more than 5,000 prisoners were being held at Pul-e Charkhi prison as of October 2024.
In early 2023, a Taliban official also said that more than 29,000 people had been detained on various charges over a period of about 18 months.
Taliban Rural Rehabilitation and Development Minister Abdul Latif Mansoor says Pakistan supported the group’s war against the United States, but Islamabad should not expect the Taliban to accept “servitude” in return.
Speaking on Tuesday at the inauguration of a small dam in Paktia, Mansoor said Afghans had never accepted domination by any country and would not do so in the future.
Referring to the wars fought by the mujahideen and the Taliban against the Soviet Union and the United States, he told Pakistan: “A nation that did not accept slavery to Russia or America will never accept slavery to Pakistan either.”
Mansoor said Afghanistan wanted engagement with Pakistan based on Islamic principles, but warned that if aggression against Afghanistan continued, Pakistan would face a “crushing response” similar to that given to Russia and the United States.
He said: “We are grateful for your support during the jihad. But do not expect us to become slaves. We did not accept servitude to Russia, which had security, development and everything. We did not accept servitude to America. Who are you that we should submit to you?”
The Taliban minister added: “The lesson we gave the Russians and the Americans; we will give to you as well.”
Mansoor also said that neighbouring countries that looked at Afghans with hostility would likewise be “neutralised and defeated”.
Referring to Pakistan, he said the country did not want security and development in Afghanistan.
He added that some neighbouring countries remained silent about developments in Afghanistan, some maintained close relations with the country, while others were “very jealous”.
According to Mansoor, “the third group is the enemy of Afghanistan” and does not want nationwide security, development or industrial growth in the country.
Mansoor said security in Afghanistan would continue as long as the Taliban remained committed to “religion, jihad and Sharia”.
Referring to the rebellion by dissident Taliban commander Juma Khan Fateh in Badakhshan, he said: “Many people will come along this path and launch rebellions. Someone will even rise up in the name of the Taliban and claim that he has made great sacrifices but is not receiving enough attention.”
He added that, with God’s help, “all of these rebellions will be brought under control”.
Tensions between the Taliban and Pakistan have increased in recent months. Pakistani officials accuse the Taliban of allowing anti-Pakistan groups, including Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, to operate from Afghan territory and of supporting them.
Islamabad also holds the Taliban partly responsible for border insecurity and has demanded that Kabul act against armed groups operating from Afghanistan against Pakistan.
The Taliban rejects these allegations and has repeatedly said it does not allow Afghan territory to be used against any other country.
Mansoor’s remarks come as disputes between Kabul and Islamabad over alleged Taliban support for Pakistani militant groups, cross-border attacks and military clashes between the two sides continue.
The Afghanistan Human Rights and Democracy Organisation says the Taliban publicly flogged 2,745 people, including women, across Afghanistan between February 2022 and April 2026, documenting 634 separate public flogging incidents.
The Afghanistan Human Rights and Democracy Organisation published the report on Tuesday, 25 August.
According to the report, the Taliban punished 422 women, 1,761 men and 562 people whose gender was not specified.
The 92-page report, titled “Whips of Power, Spectacle of Control: Documenting the Taliban’s Public Floggings, 2022-2026”, examines corporal punishment carried out by the Taliban.
The report said Kabul province accounted for the highest share of people flogged, at 88 per cent, while Nuristan recorded the lowest share, at one per cent.
The highest number of public flogging incidents was recorded in 2025, with 262 cases, while the lowest was in 2023, with 30 cases.
Most of those punished were flogged over allegations involving sexual offences and moral crimes, including relationships, sexual conduct and restrictions related to women’s movement.
The Afghanistan Human Rights and Democracy Organisation said public corporal punishment is often carried out in front of crowds and is used by the Taliban as a tool of punishment, intimidation and social control.
The report also documents cases of arbitrary detention, forced confessions and denial of access to defence lawyers, evidence and witnesses.
The organisation described public flogging as a violation of several fundamental rights, including the prohibition of torture and ill-treatment, the right to privacy, freedom of movement, freedom of assembly and association, and the right to a fair trial.
It also said the report’s findings could, under international law, be relevant to possible crimes against humanity and war crimes, including torture, persecution, imprisonment, cruel and inhuman treatment, denial of fair-trial rights and outrages upon personal dignity.
The report includes 23 personal testimonies from victims and calls on governments, international organisations and human rights bodies to strengthen independent monitoring, investigate abuses and take steps to hold perpetrators accountable.
The organisation said Taliban policies towards women and girls amount to “gender apartheid” and should be recognised as a crime against humanity.
It urged the United Nations to take the report’s findings into account when examining the situation of women and girls in Afghanistan.
The organisation also called on the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court to review evidence concerning alleged Taliban crimes as part of the court’s investigation into Afghanistan.
Despite the continuation of flogging in Afghanistan, the Taliban has stopped officially publicising such punishments since the beginning of this summer.
The Afghanistan Human Rights and Democracy Organisation called on the Taliban to revoke orders permitting flogging and end restrictions on the rights and freedoms of women, girls and other Afghan citizens.
The Taliban Supreme Court continued publishing reports on the flogging of citizens until May 2026.
Afghanistan International’s review shows that since 22 April 2026, the Taliban Supreme Court has significantly restricted public access to information about corporal punishment.
The last statement published by the court on a flogging sentence was dated 22 April. In that announcement, the Taliban Supreme Court said two defendants in Badakhshan had each been sentenced to one year in prison and 39 lashes over an alleged extramarital relationship.
The restriction followed an Afghanistan International investigative report published on 25 April 2026.
That investigation, based on thousands of official Taliban court statements, information from UN experts and reports by human rights organisations, found that more than 107,550 lashes had been inflicted on Afghan citizens from the Taliban’s takeover of Kabul in August 2021 through the end of March 2026.
UN experts, including Richard Bennett, the UN special rapporteur on human rights in Afghanistan, have previously called for an end to corporal punishment.
They described such punishments as an “assault on human dignity” and warned that they could amount to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.
The experts have said the widespread use of corporal punishment for such alleged offences forms part of a broader system of structural gender discrimination and social control that is incompatible with Afghanistan’s international obligations.
Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid says the group leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada, has dismissed Mohammad Ismail Ghaznawi as governor of Badakhshan.
According to him Rahmatullah Najib, a deputy interior minister, is appointed as his replacement.
The change comes amid recent tensions and growing insecurity in Badakhshan.
According to the decree, published on Tuesday, 25 August, several other Taliban officials were also reassigned in Badakhshan, Sar-e Pul and the Interior and Public Works ministries.
Mullah Bakhtiar Moaz was appointed governor of Sar-e Pul, while Mullah Ahmad Shah Dindost was named police chief of Badakhshan.
Mullah Abdul Jabbar was appointed deputy minister of interior for administrative affairs, Mawlawi Mohammad Ismail Ghaznawi was named deputy minister for road maintenance at the Public Works Ministry, and Mawlawi Abdul Basir Mazhari was appointed head of public works in Kandahar.
The changes to the Taliban governor and police chief in Badakhshan come as the province has seen widespread unrest and an increase in attacks by armed opposition groups in recent months.
In late July, fighters from the Sepahiyan-e Mihan Front briefly seized control of Yaftal district in a surprise attack. The incident led to broad changes in the Taliban’s security and administrative structures in Badakhshan.
Meanwhile, Zabihullah Amiri, the Taliban’s information and culture chief in Badakhshan, was killed in an armed attack on the Baharak-Faizabad road.
In another attack, the Taliban-appointed mayor of Faizabad was also killed.
At the same time, repeated clashes between Afghanistan Freedom Front forces and the Taliban have continued in Zebak district.
Separately, forces loyal to Juma Khan Fateh, a dissident Taliban commander, fought Taliban troops for about a week in Darwaz district. He surrendered to Fasihuddin Fitrat, the Taliban army chief of staff, about a week ago.
Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid had previously told Afghanistan International that Fateh would be put on trial.
In recent days, the Taliban has also begun a broad process of collecting complaints and documenting allegations against Juma Khan Fateh.