Reliable sources from Balkhab district in Sar-e-Pul province, reported to Afghanistan International that the Taliban officials have detained and tortured at least 14 local residents.

The families of these detainees have not been allowed to visit them for weeks.

According to local sources, several operatives of the Taliban’s intelligence department, masquerading as mining contractors, have attempted to coerce locals into denouncing the Taliban's oppressive measures.

When some residents voiced complaints about discriminatory practices by the Taliban and expressed sympathy towards resistance movements, they were reportedly recorded by Taliban spies.

Following these events, Taliban forces conducted raids in three villages within the Balkhab district, resulting in the detention of 14 civilians. The Taliban have also demanded that these families surrender weapons allegedly left behind by Mawlawi Mehdi Mujahid, a former commander who had parted ways with the Taliban. Mujahid was reported to have been killed by the Taliban after internal conflicts.

The residents of Balkhab district assert that they do not possess weapons and lack the financial resources to acquire them. Some reports indicate that the Taliban are forcing locals to pay cash instead of surrendering weapons.

In the wake of Mawlawi Mehdi Mujahid’s death, numerous reports have surfaced about widespread human rights abuses in the area. Last year, the Afghanistan Human Rights Commission accused Taliban forces of executing civilians in Balkhab, Sar-e-Pul.

Furthermore, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) in Kabul announced that it was actively investigating these reports of severe human rights violations in the region.