Taliban Detains Social Media Influencer, Ex Security Force Member: Report

Taliban detained a social media influencer and former member of security forces in the previous government in Kabul, Afghanistan's vernacular media Reporterly reported.

The victim has been identified as Abdul Rahim and originally is from the Dare Abdullah Khel area of Panjshir province. He was detained on Thursday.

Meanwhile, according to local sources, Taliban members also detained Imran Ahmadzai a social media influencer from his home in Kabul.

Reporterly citing local sources reported that Ahmadzai was detained on February 12 for spreading anti-Taliban propaganda.

On Facebook, Ahmadzai has 23,327 followers and his last video was about people running on Kabul Street with a caption of 'go towards turkey' on February 8, according to Reporterly.

On February 8, hundreds of Afghan citizens rushed to the Kabul airport, after there were rumours that the Taliban were sending Afghans to Turkey. Taliban members had violently engaged with the people and scattered them with aerial shots.

Meanwhile, on February 16, Abdul Haq Hemad, director of media oversight at the Taliban's ministry of information and culture confirmed that the Taliban has arrested people who have been suspected of spreading rumours about the transfer of Afghans to Turkiye.

While Hemad didn't provide details about the arrested people, it seems that Ahmadzai might have been one of these people arrested by the Taliban on charges of spreading rumours about Turkiye, reported Reporterly.

Taliban continue to arrest Afghan citizens who have been active on social media, and those who happen to have worked in the previous Afghan government. These arrests particularly from the security forces have been mainly focused on Tajiks and Hazara ethnic groups.

After the fall of the republic order on August 15, 2021, hundreds of former soldiers who have been unable to leave the country have been arrested, tortured, and even killed by the Taliban.

Several audio tapes and a list of ex-soldiers, most of whom are abroad, have been circulating on social media, that talk about the Taliban's attempts to arrest former members of ANDSF, reported Reporterly.