Pakistan’s Information Ministry has rejected as “baseless” a claim by Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid that Pakistani military personnel were involved in recent fighting in Badakhshan.
The response came after Mujahid claimed in an interview last week that Taliban opponents had entered Badakhshan through Pakistan’s Chitral region and that some Pakistani military personnel were accompanying them.
In the interview with Germany’s Deutsche Welle, the Taliban spokesman described recent security developments in Badakhshan as part of a conspiracy and accused Pakistan of facilitating and supporting armed Taliban opponents.
Pakistan’s Information Ministry said in a statement that no credible evidence had been presented to support the claims. It stressed that the insecurity and fighting in Badakhshan stemmed from Afghanistan’s internal problems rather than Pakistani interference.
Islamabad also said available independent reports described the clashes in Badakhshan as confrontations between opposition groups and the Taliban.
The ministry urged the Taliban to address its own security problems and internal challenges instead of blaming others. It added that Pakistan supported a stable Afghanistan and had no interest in destabilising the country.
The remarks come as Badakhshan has seen repeated clashes in recent weeks between Taliban forces and the Afghanistan Freedom Front.
As insecurity has increased in the province, the Taliban has sought to attribute some of the developments to foreign support for its opponents.
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.
Three eyewitnesses in Herat told Afghanistan International that Taliban morality police detained several women and girls in three separate incidents, including a 13-year-old girl who was fully covered and wearing a headscarf and mask.
One witness told Afghanistan International that at around 11 am on Sunday, near the Taliban’s Information and Culture directorate, morality police detained a girl of about 13 who had just left an educational course.
According to the witness, the girl screamed loudly and called on people for help. Several nearby shopkeepers protested, shouting: “Shame on us that they take away and detain our women in front of us while we stand and watch.”
The officers beat one of the men with an electric baton, leaving his face bloodied. They then drove away with the girl, who had been forced into a vehicle.
Another eyewitness said that on Sunday, Taliban members in two vehicles detained a number of women and girls in the Pul-e Rangina area.
According to the witness, officers forced several women and girls who were observing the Taliban’s mandated hijab into the vehicles. One of the women had two children with her, who cried as she was detained.
Several men asked the officers to release the women, but the Taliban personnel ignored them and took the women away.
The witness added that when the vehicles reached the Sufiabad area, two veiled women forcibly put a young girl who were observing the Taliban’s mandated hijab into one of the vehicles.
In a third incident, an eyewitness said on Monday that two Taliban vehicles took away a girl from an alley known as Hammam-e Khwaja Amini.
According to the witness, the girl was wearing hijab and a face mask. She was carrying a backpack and appeared to be under 20.
Describing the Taliban’s treatment of her, the witness said: “It was as if they had caught a thief.”
A widespread wave of detentions of women in Herat has intensified since 6 June.
Khalid Hanafi, Taliban’s Minister of the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, has said those detained were people who, in his words, were seeking to “promote improper hijab and create unrest” against the Ministry.