Despite promises not to seek retribution against their ideological enemies following their takeover of Afghanistan, the Taliban is doing just that.
On Thursday, horrifying video of the Taliban executing an Afghan police chief emerged. Haji Mullah Achakzai, a former Afghan Armed Forces member who became police chief of the Badghis province near Herat, was captured by the Taliban and executed for fighting alongside the Afghan army.
The execution video, posted to Twitter by a friend of Mr Achakzai on Thursday, showed the police chief kneeling in the sand with his eyes blindfolded and his hands tied in front of him.
He is surrounded by Taliban soldiers who then shoot him several times and leave his body lying in the sand.
The video was shared through a Taliban-related network and obtained by Afghan security adviser Nasser Waziri. –News.com.au
Meanwhile, the Taliban has intensified its search for people who worked with US and Nato forces, according to a confidential UN document cited by the Times of India.
The report — provided by the UN’s threat-assessment consultants — says the group has “priority lists” of individuals it wants to arrest.
Most at risk are people who had central roles in the Afghan military, police and intelligence units, according to the document.
The Taliban have been conducting “targeted door-to-door visits” of individuals they want to apprehend and their family members, the report says.
It adds that militants are also screening individuals on the way to Kabul airport and have set up checkpoints in major cities, including the capital and Jalalabad.
“They are targeting the families of those who refuse to give themselves up, and prosecuting and punishing their families ‘according to Sharia law,” said Christian Nellmann, executive director of the Norwegian Center for Global Analysis, which created the UN document.
“We expect both individuals previously working with Nato/US forces and their allies, alongside with their family members to be exposed to torture and executions. This will further jeopardize western intelligence services, their networks, methods and ability to counter both the Taliban, ISIS and other terrorist threats ahead.”
According to the report, the Taliban is “rapidly recruiting” new informants to collaborate with them, and have expanded their list of targets to mosques and money brokers.