Taliban police in the eastern province of Khost said on Wednesday that two sons of a man executed in a public “qisas” killing on Tuesday have also been sentenced to death, though the punishments have been postponed because the pair are not in Afghanistan.
Mostaghfar Gurbaz, spokesperson for the Taliban’s police command in Khost, said on X that the two sons of Mangal — who was executed on Tuesday in Khost’s central stadium — were wanted in connection with the same case, the killing of 13 members of a family in the districts of Ali Shir and Terezio. He said the sons “would have been executed alongside their father” had they been present.
Gurbaz said the sentences were delayed because the victims’ relatives, who he said are living outside Afghanistan, must be present to approve or reject the enforcement of retribution under Taliban interpretations of Islamic law.
The Taliban supreme court said earlier that Mangal’s case had been reviewed by primary, appellate and high courts before the order was approved by their leader. The court described him as originally from Sanjak village in Paktia’s Syed Karam district but living in Khost at the time of the killings.
The Taliban police command spokesman said about 80,000 people, including their senior local authorities and security personnel, gathered in the stadium to witness the execution — one of the largest crowds reported at such an event since the Taliban returned to power in 2021.
Human rights groups and UN officials have repeatedly criticised the Taliban’s justice system, citing lack of transparency and due process. Richard Bennett, the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Afghanistan, described the public execution as “a grave violation of human dignity and incompatible with Islamic principles,” noting that thousands of spectators, including small children, were present.
Data compiled from Taliban supreme court statements indicate that Tuesday’s killing was the eleventh execution by retribution carried out by the Taliban in more than four years.
