Taliban says former Afghan officials can return without restrictions
The Taliban administration has claimed that 1,388 former Afghan government officials have returned to the country over the past five years through its “Commission for Contact with Personalities” — a claim made amid reports that some returnees have complained about security treatment and left Afghanistan again.
Shahabuddin Delawar, head of the commission, said the returnees include ministers, deputy ministers, governors, generals and former members of parliament. He said some of these figures had not left Afghanistan in the first place.
Delawar claimed that former government officials face no restrictions on entering or leaving Afghanistan and that any Afghan can return to the country without fear. He also rejected reports that some former officials had returned and then left again because of restrictions or poor treatment.
According to the head of the commission, intelligence, defence and interior ministry officials under the Taliban administration are not allowed to visit the homes of former officials, and no one has the right to bring a case against them. However, speaking about their political activity, he said such activity is conditional on having no “bad intentions”, acting within the “framework of Islam”, respecting Afghanistan’s interests and not opposing the Taliban administration’s system.
He added that Taliban intelligence and security institutions may set special working arrangements for meetings between former officials and the public or journalists. Delawar also said that under the declared general amnesty, property acquired by former government officials over the past 20 years will not be confiscated and will not be accounted for.
Even so, the remarks make clear that the Taliban administration has imposed restrictions on the political activity and public engagement of former officials, while reports have also emerged of some returnees being unhappy with the conduct of security agencies. The “Commission for Contact with Personalities” is one of the structures the Taliban administration has created to encourage former government officials to return.
