Sources in Nangarhar province confirmed that Taliban forces have arrested a former army commander of the previous Afghan government in the seventh district of Jalalabad city.
According to the sources, the commander, named Ahmad Shah, had returned from Iran after coordinating with the Taliban's "Commission for Contact with Afghan Personalities”.
On Friday, August 24, some relatives of Captain Ahmad Shah informed Afghanistan International that the Taliban had detained him on Wednesday evening in the Jungle Bagh area of the seventh district of Jalalabad city.
The relatives of this former military officer provided Afghanistan International with a copy of a card issued by the Taliban's "Commission for Contact with Afghan Personalities”. The card states, "The holder of this card has returned to the country through the Commission for Contact and, based on the general amnesty decree, no agency has the right to arrest this person due to his previous military duties."
However, the relatives also mentioned that the Taliban's commission is now unresponsive to their inquiries about Ahmad Shah's arrest. They added that they have approached the Taliban's security agencies in Nangarhar for information about his fate, but none of the agencies have provided any answers.
Ahmad Shah's relatives noted that he is originally from Laghman province and previously served as the commander of the Fifth Battalion of the Fourth Brigade of the Afghan Army in Nangarhar under the former government.
This incident comes just two days after several former Taliban prisoners in Nangarhar revealed that at least 231 former soldiers and security personnel from the previous government are currently being held in Taliban prisons in the province.
