Report: 80 former officials killed or wounded in Afghanistan last year

Rawadari, a human rights organization, says in its annual report that at least 80 employees of the former government were killed or wounded in 2025 in what it described as targeted and extrajudicial attacks, many allegedly involving Taliban members.

The report, released on Wednesday, said that the figure represents a decline from 91 cases in 2024 and 83 in 2023, but it has cautioned that growing restrictions on information and pressure on witnesses may have obscured the true scale of abuses.

The findings are based on interviews conducted across 30 provinces, along with supporting evidence including official correspondence, court documents, photographs and audio recordings.

The report describes a pattern of retaliatory violence, often attributed to Taliban intelligence units, targeting former officials and individuals accused of links to opposition groups. In many cases, killings were carried out by unidentified gunmen, and Taliban authorities either denied involvement or failed to investigate, the group said.

In one example, a former serviceman in Kandahar province was shot after a verbal altercation; the Taliban later described the victim as a criminal, the report says. In other cases, victims were killed in public spaces or shortly after returning from abroad, with no accountability for perpetrators.

The organization documented at least 611 cases of targeted, mysterious or extrajudicial killings and injuries in 2025 — a roughly 40 percent increase compared with 2024. Victims included former government employees, journalists, tribal elders and civilians accused of cooperating with opposition groups.

More broadly, the report paints a stark picture of rising violence against civilians. It found that at least 1,154 people were killed or wounded in 2025 in incidents including targeted attacks, suicide bombings, landmine explosions and airstrikes. Of those, 617 were killed and 537 injured, including 91 children among the dead and 76 among the wounded.

The total marks an increase of roughly 50 percent compared with both 2023 and 2024, underscoring what the group described as a worsening security environment.

Cross-border violence was a significant factor. Pakistani military strikes alone accounted for at least 324 civilian casualties — including 90 deaths — across several provinces, according to the report, which said such attacks raised concerns under international humanitarian law.

According to Rawadari’s report, explosive remnants of war and landmines also continued to pose a major threat, killing or injuring at least 164 people, many of them children. Aid organizations estimate that millions of Afghans remain at risk from unexploded ordnance.

The report also highlights a sharp rise in detentions and enforced disappearances. At least 66 people were forcibly disappeared in 2025, more than double the number recorded in 2023, while arbitrary detentions surged to at least 2,559 cases — nearly triple the 2024 figure.

Those detained included former officials, journalists, activists, religious figures and ordinary citizens accused of violating Taliban regulations. Many were held without formal charges, access to lawyers or contact with family members, the report said.

Taliban also used detention as a tool of coercion and extortion in some cases, demanding money or guarantees in exchange for release, according to testimony cited in the report.

Restrictions on women deepened further in 2025, the organization said, describing a systematic erosion of rights to education, employment, movement and justice. The enforcement of the Taliban Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice law expanded state control over women’s daily lives, contributing to what the report described as widespread discrimination and social exclusion.

The report said these measures, combined with bans on education and work, could amount to gender-based persecution under international law.

Taliban courts also continued to impose corporal punishments, including flogging and other forms of public humiliation, in violation of international standards, the group said.

Ethnic and religious minorities faced discrimination in access to jobs and public services, as well as restrictions on practicing their faith, the report added.

Throughout 2025, the space for independent reporting and documentation narrowed further. The report said Taliban imposed strict controls on media and access to information, including surveillance, threats and arrests of journalists and human rights defenders.

In some cases, families of victims were pressured to remain silent or provide false accounts, while detainees were required to sign commitments not to speak publicly about their treatment.

The lack of independent monitoring mechanisms and the absence of accountability for abuses have contributed to what the organization described as a climate of impunity.

Rawadari warned that the figures in its report likely undercount violations, given the constraints on documentation and the risks faced by witnesses.

It called on the Taliban to take concrete steps to protect civilians, uphold fundamental rights and ensure accountability for violations.