While Taliban leaders last Friday called on Ukraine and Russia to “desist from taking positions that could intensify violence,” their foot soldiers prepared to take a more hotheaded approach with the Afghan population.
On Saturday morning, a U.S. evacuation volunteer received video confirmation that a horde of more than 1,000 Taliban were making their way toward the Afghan capital of Kabul. Fresh off hard combat with the National Resistance Front in northern Panjshir province, they were preparing to join Taliban forces already present around Kabul to search Afghan residences.
These indiscriminate house-to-house searches created wide backlash throughout Afghanistan. While Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid claimed the Taliban sought “terrorists,” some Afghans feel the Pashtun Taliban are targeting members of ethnic minorities who chiefly inhabit areas of northern Afghanistan where resistance forces are fighting. The results of their searches, the purported arrest of six members of ISIS-K, nine kidnappers, and 53 thieves, insinuate that the Taliban’s targets were not solely resistance forces. The Taliban have recently justified the murders of Afghans formerly employed by the Afghan government by labeling them kidnappers.
Photographs of broken doors, wrecked living spaces, and camouflage-clad Talibs with blood on their hands proliferated on Afghan social media. One source tells me that the Taliban ransacked empty apartments and stole valuables from absentee residents. While seeking out weapons, the group also searched electronic devices and looked for any materials written in English. The Taliban also brought women to search female residents thoroughly.
A number of Afghans who worked beside U.S. forces chose to burn the commendations, human resources data, and other proofs of employment they guarded carefully to acquire a visa or referral to the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program. For some, a chance at life trumped certain death.
For others, life under the Taliban is no life at all. Zarmina, whose name I changed to protect her identity, was a financially independent woman pursuing a master’s degree prior to the Taliban takeover of her country. Now, she told me, “I think I am a moving corpse.” Zarmina explained that her life “has been destroyed,” as she has lost the right to work and study and to choose where she travels, what she wears, and how she thinks.
When she awoke on Saturday to news of the Taliban’s thorough house-to-house searches, she was petrified about the safety of her father, a former high-ranking Afghan National Army officer. Unable to reach her father by phone, she spent an hour “experiencing insanity” as she contacted anyone who might know where he was. For now, Zarmina’s family is safe, but their torment is far from over as they seek a way to leave Afghanistan.
On Sunday, the Taliban publicly declared that Afghans may not leave the country without excuse, a twist on last week’s secret orders banning U.S. and NATO allies from leaving Afghanistan. “Initially we had said that the Americans … could take people whom they had any concerns about … But this is not a continuous promise,” a Taliban official said.
This declaration follows the Biden administration’s easing of some sanctions against Afghanistan. Now, “people can lawfully transfer money to civil servants in government agencies — including ministries now led by Taliban officials,” the New York Times reported.
Other efforts to provide aid to Afghans have enabled, and de facto legitimized, the Taliban. With every concession, the Taliban have less incentive to change their aggressive behavior. The U.S. government must assist Afghans without enriching the untrustworthy Taliban, and focus quickly on efforts to evacuate allies facing incredible danger.
Beth Bailey (@BWBailey85) is a freelance writer from the Detroit area.
