Taliban Amnesty: What Does Amnesty Mean for Human Rights in Afghanistan?
The Taliban announced general amnesty after their takeover of Afghanistan and asked everyone to return to their jobs as usual. They especially called those who worked with the military, ministries, and the former government to resume their jobs. However, there are lots of cases and evidence that clearly show the Taliban are not committed to their promise of amnesty now and in 1996, through interviews and research that this paper has carried out. This article also provides responses to the two questions – whether the Taliban are in the position to extend amnesty and what crime people have committed to being granted amnesty.
Given the Taliban’s actions when they ruled 20 years ago, we cannot assume that they have changed and are now trustworthy. In 1996, a commander of the Taliban named Musa also declared amnesty for all Afghans: “The Taliban will not take revenge, we do not have personal rancor if the people find someone responsible for any crime they will be judged by Islamic law.” [1] However, In the hours later after the Taliban took power in 1996, president Dr. Najibullah Ahmadzai and his brother were killed by the Taliban, and their beaten bodies were hanged publicly.[2]
A few days after their takeover, the Taliban started searching homes for members of the opposition and soldiers. Meanwhile, the United Nations report shows at least 160 extrajudicial killings of former government and security officials by members of the de facto authorities between 15 August 2021 and 15 June 2022.[3] Though people witnessed such shocking cases, they too disappeared. The Taliban have denied such actions for the sake of making themselves look innocent and legitimizing their government. Thus, the world should not be deceived by their words. There are live examples of people being killed and disappearing because of their involvement with the previous government and serving in the police.
Qasim Qaim Andarabi, who worked with the Ministry of Defense, after the collapse of the previous government, was asked for returning to his job and one day when he went to his workplace their family found their dead body. Mujahid, Qassim’s brother) said, “one day when he was coming home, he was arrested by Taliban soldiers and after a few weeks we received a call from my brother’s number to take his murdered body from the hospital”. Mujahid added, “the Taliban shouldn’t be recognized as an independent government until they respect human rights.”[4]
Moreover, 13 Hazara were killed by Taliban fighters in Daykundi province. The victims included a 17-year-old girl. According to evidence and eyewitness gathered by Amnesty International, the killings happened in Kahor village of Khidir district on August 30, 2021. Eleven victims of this case were former members of Afghan National Defense Security Forces (ANDSF), and two were civilians including a 17-years old girl shot when the Taliban opened fire in a crowd of people, the amnesty international has revealed. [5]
Saadat’s brother said: “Ever since Taliban came to power; they started searching house to house. When they came to our house, they took Saadat with themselves and left.” After one month when Saadat came home his eyes were drawn and they pulled his fingernails and even his mind was shocked, and he couldn’t speak well because the Taliban tortured him brutally.” Then he added “when he came home, he just told us that he must leave the country. Now it has been 5 months that he is gone, and we even do not know where he is living. His wife and children are here with us”. Saadat’s father added, “the Taliban haven’t changed, and general amnesty is empty words”.
In fact, the Taliban are the ones who killed innocent people for more than 20 years before the fall of Afghanistan. They are not in the position to announce amnesty for people. It is the Taliban who should be taken into court because they made thousands of children fatherless, widowed thousands of Afghan women, and killed their young sons and daughters. Afghan people will never forget how they brutally killed people after they were thrown from power in 2001. [6]
Thousands of people immigrated after the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan. And those who stayed have been tortured and killed. Not all people have the means to escape.
While there is no easy fix for this human catastrophe, the international community should take urgent action to support Afghanistan and the Afghan people. First, there is need to be a committee to monitor the human rights situation in Afghanistan, consisting of prominent members of various international organizations. Second, the international community must use every available lever to pressure the Taliban government to respect human rights. The UN should put sanctions on the Taliban’s relationship with other countries until they respect and protect human rights in Afghanistan. In another word, they should not be considered independent governments to have a good relationship with other countries. Finally, the United Nations should not give the seat of Afghanistan in the UN to the Taliban.
To conclude, the evidence and reports show that the Taliban are not trustworthy – they have never kept their words. What they say is different than their deeds. If the international community does not act, there will be further execution of innocent people who have done no crime. The suffering of people will continue, and we will be witnessed more people being tortured and disappearing.
[1] Westfall, S. (2021, August 23). Taliban leaders are promising peace, order and amnesty in Afghanistan. they promised that last time, too. The Washington Post. Retrieved August 2, 2022, from https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2021/08/22/taliban-historical-rhetoric/
[2] Roy, S. (2021, August 19). Taliban brutality and death of Mohammad Najibullah in 1996. The News Insight. Retrieved August 10, 2022, from https://enewsinsight.com/taliban-brutality-and-death-of-mohammad-najibullah-in-1996/
[3] Un releases report on human rights in Afghanistan since the Taliban takeover. UNAMA. (2022, July 20). Retrieved August 10, 2022, from https://unama.unmissions.org/un-releases-report-human-rights-afghanistan-taliban-takeover
[4] 8am. (2022, April 17). Taliban kills Qasim Qaim Archives. Hasht-e Subh Daily. Retrieved August 2, 2022, from https://8am.af/eng/tag/taliban-kills-qasim-qaim/
[5] Afghanistan archives. Amnesty International. (n.d.). Retrieved August 2, 2022, from https://www.amnesty.org/en/location/asia-and-the-pacific/south-asia/afghanistan/report-afghanistan/
[6] Serhan, Y. (2021, October 16). The Taliban is just as bad as it always was. The Atlantic. Retrieved August 2, 2022, from https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2021/10/taliban-hasnt-changed-afghanistan/620371/