Taliban Releases 408 Prisoners from Kandahar and Herat Prisons for Eid
The Taliban announced the release of 408 prisoners from central prisons in Kandahar and Herat ahead of Eid. State news agency Bakhtar reported that 201 people were freed from Kandahar Central Prison and 207 from Herat Central Prison. The releases included women and children.
The Taliban's Supreme Court also reduced sentences for 546 other prisoners, including 393 in Kandahar and 229 in Herat, according to Bakhtar. The Taliban provided no details on the crimes committed or the lengths of the sentences.
The Taliban's Prison Affairs Department stated in September 1403 that the country holds between 10,000 and 11,000 prisoners, including about 1,000 women and nearly 900 underage inmates.
Qari Mansour Ahmad Hamza, deputy spokesman of the Taliban court, said 662 people had been publicly flogged across 27 provinces in the past six months. The Taliban carried out public executions of at least three people in Khost, Badghis and Paktia provinces in 2025.
Afghanistan International's investigations indicated that Taliban corporal and field punishments doubled in 2025 compared to the previous year and that more than 2,000 people, including 293 women, had been publicly flogged since 2024 on various charges.
The United Nations has repeatedly called on the Taliban to end corporal punishments, while human rights organizations have criticized the group's judicial system for lacking fair trial standards, including access to defense lawyers.
Separately, local residents reported that Pakistani planes bombed the command of Mullah Hibatullah's special forces unit, known as the 'Umri Unit,' around the 13th district of Kandahar city on Saturday night (23 Hoot). The explosion was heard in distant areas. Sources said another Taliban center near Ainomina settlement in the 11th district was attacked afterward.
The unit, commanded by Mullah Abdul Ahad, known as 'Talib Mawlawi,' has about 1,200 personnel dedicated to Hibatullah's security and operates branches in several provinces.
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