Taliban govt dismisses hundreds of members over abusive practices

Spokesperson says some offenders taken into custody, others going through interrogation

KABUL:

The Taliban administration of Afghanistan has relieved hundreds of its members of their duties for abusive practices, the spokesperson of the interim government said on Friday.

Inamullah Samangani said on his social media account that 1,895 Taliban members were so far suspended, including administrators in some provinces that he did not name.

According to Samangani, some of the suspended Taliban members were taken under custody, while others were interrogated.

Following the establishment of an interim Taliban government on Sept 7, the Taliban founded a commission to "clean the ranks" and announced that it had begun to operate.

The commission was tasked with punishing those abusing the name of the Taliban by removing them from the organisation.

Taliban leader Haibatullah Akhundzada issued a statement on Nov 4 warning commanders against the danger of infiltration.

Also read: Taliban to purge 'people of bad character' from ranks

In an audio recording last month, Taliban deputy chief and Afghan interior minister Sirajuddin Haqqani said: "We are learning that people of bad character had entered (Taliban) ranks and had been causing a bad name to the Islamic Emirate (Afghanistan) and serving their vested interests."

"It is our humble wish that there should be a small number of people but they should be pure and sincere so that this movement should not get damaged," he said in the audio, whose authenticity was confirmed to Reuters by Taliban officials.

Reports on social media have alleged that people identifying themselves as Taliban members have carried out a number of attacks on civilians and former members of the security forces of the ousted government since August, despite the Taliban leadership announcing a general amnesty. Taliban officials have repeatedly denied sanctioning these acts.