Taliban have dismissed 52 employees from their police command in Baghlan Province, continuing a broader effort to reduce staffing across institutions under their control, according to local sources.
The dismissals, carried out by the Taliban-run Ministry of Interior, affected personnel from various departments, including traffic police, narcotics control, fire services, and district security posts, sources siad.
The decision was said to be in line with a directive from the Taliban’s reclusive leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada.
Several sources told Amu TV that the reduction in force could significantly affect security operations in Baghlan, a province already struggling with economic instability and limited public services.
The layoffs are part of a wider restructuring effort by the Taliban, who have maintained a pattern of sweeping bureaucratic changes since seizing power nearly four years ago. Recently, Akhundzada ordered the elimination of nearly 90,000 positions from the Taliban-controlled Ministry of Education.
Moreover, sources confirmed last month that hundreds of university professors — including faculty at Kabul and Herat universities — were recently removed from their posts, further raising concerns over access to education and academic freedom under Taliban rule.
Earlier this year, some Interior Ministry employees told Amu that their salaries had gone unpaid for over two months — a situation that reflects the Taliban’s ongoing fiscal constraints amid international sanctions and dwindling aid.
Afghanistan’s economy has been in free fall since the Taliban took power in August 2021, with widespread unemployment and poverty deepening across the country. The United Nations has warned that restrictions on women’s employment under Taliban policies have further crippled the economy and limited the ability of international agencies to deliver humanitarian aid.
