UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet on Monday at the UN meeting on Afghanistan in Geneva said she is worried about reports over civilian casualties and human rights violations in Panjshir.
“I am worried about reports of civilian casualties and human rights violations as an outcome of war in Panjshir and also am worried about the increasing hardship of living conditions there,” she said.
Bachelet also raised concerns over the Taliban’s reprisals against employees of the former government and said non-government organizations and civil society organizations offices have also been attacked.
“We have received worrying information about the Taliban’s raids on some NGOs and civil society groups’ offices,” she said.
Meanwhile, a number of Panjshir residents said they have witnessed incidents of civilian killings and people being forced to leave their houses.
Nawida Azizi, a resident of Panjshir, said: “The forceful migration of Panjshir people has caused the people to leave their houses and go to other provinces.”
“They announced a general amnesty, but they violated the amnesty and human rights and killed innocent people,” said Sahil Arman, a resident of Panjshir.
The Taliban, however, rejected the allegations and asked the UN to take a "closer look."
“We strongly reject the report of Human Rights Watch, which says that the Mujahideen of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan have committed war crimes against humanity. The organization should not fall prey to the misinformation of the enemy and should not prepare such false reports based on it. They need to take a closer look at the area and find out the facts for themselves,” the Taliban’s spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid tweeted.
Meanwhile, Ahmad Wali Massoud, a leader of the Resistance Front, in an interview with Deutsche Welle accused the Taliban of forcing people to leave their homes.
“The Taliban has forced hundreds of families to leave Panjshir. The Resistance Front has asked the world countries for support, but until now there has not been any response,” he said.
Abdulhaq Emad, a Taliban official, however, said the people have themselves left the area and the Taliban did not force them to leave their houses.