A former member of the public order police from the previous government, who was disabled in a bombing, expressed his frustration with the lack of support from the Taliban-led administration. He shared that his life has become increasingly difficult over the past two years as he has not been receiving his payments.
The former soldier, who resides in Kunar, stated that he is facing severe economic hardship and that his concerns are not taken seriously or addressed appropriately by any party.
Similar problems have been reported by a few other former soldiers in the eastern province and other parts of the country, although they declined to speak on the record out of fear for their safety.
Amu reporter interviewed Shafiullah, a former police force member in Chapa Dara district, Kunar. Shafiullah disclosed that he lost his leg in a bomb explosion in Panjwaee district, Kandahar province.
Shafiullah expressed his disappointment with the current rule, claiming that no one is willing to listen to his concerns since the regime change.
“I became disabled during the previous government’s rule. They used to provide me with some payments and support my rights, but the current government doesn’t even give me 10 percent of what I’m entitled to,” he stated.
To make ends meet, Shafiullah currently works as a guard for the belongings of mine workers in the district.
“I work here because I have no other options due to poverty. If I don’t work, my children won’t be able to receive an education, and I would have to ask them to work instead,” added Shafiullah.
Shafiullah emphasized that the shared pain among former security forces is that their leaders abandoned them in the field and fled for their own safety.
He expressed his wish for his son to attend school and have a better future.
However, local Taliban officials in Kunar claim that all disabled individuals are treated equally.
“The treatment of all disabled people is the same. We have a department here, and disabled individuals from both the previous government and our own ranks receive equal treatment,” said Obaidullah Haqqani, head of the Martyrs and Disabled Department for the Taliban in Kunar.
Under the previous government, Afghanistan had at least 350,000 security and defense force members. However, only a few have remained in the police structure under Taliban rule, while other security agencies were disbanded after the fall of the republic government to the Taliban in August 2021.
