Taliban Interior Minister: Afghanistan Poses No Threat to Other Countries

Sirajuddin Haqqani, the Taliban’s Interior Minister, stated at a police academy graduation ceremony that Afghanistan is currently a safe country and, according to him, poses no threat to other nations. He emphasized that the police under Taliban rule differ from the security structures of previous regimes and claimed that the public now supports and welcomes the presence of security forces. Haqqani criticized the police in earlier periods, saying that people feared them because, in his view, police officers engaged in theft and took individuals to unknown locations. He also insisted that police should treat the public with kindness and compassion—a claim sharply contradicted by numerous reports of arbitrary arrests, restrictions, and harsh treatment by the Taliban forces, especially in certain regions of the country, which have raised serious questions and criticism.