A former member of Afghanistan’s security forces was arrested by the Taliban in the norteastern province of Badakhshan, sources said on Sunday.
The man, identified as Zubair, son of Abdul Rauf, was detained on Saturday in Baharak district by Taliban forces under the command of a local commander identified as Amanuddin.
According to the sources, Zubair was subsequently transferred to Taliban intelligence. His whereabouts and condition remain unknown.
The sources said he is originally from Warduj district of Badakhshan and had been living in the province after being forcibly deported from Iran several months ago.
Taliban have not commented on the reported detention.
The arrest comes despite repeated Taliban assurances that former members of the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces would not face retaliation following the group’s return to power in August 2021.
However, the UN has continued to document cases of killings, arbitrary arrests and mistreatment involving former government officials and security personnel.
In its latest quarterly human rights report covering the period from October to December 2025, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said it had documented the killing of 14 former government officials and security force members.
UNAMA also recorded 28 cases of arbitrary detention and seven incidents of torture and ill-treatment involving former officials and members of the former security forces during the same period.
The UN mission noted that some of those subjected to extrajudicial killings and arbitrary detention were individuals who had recently returned to Afghanistan after being deported from Iran and Pakistan.
Human rights organizations have repeatedly expressed concern about the treatment of former security personnel under Taliban rule, despite the announcement of a general amnesty following the collapse of the former government.
