The Taliban has issued a set of stringent guidelines to rein in unruly armed cadres and inculcate a sense of discipline in their ranks. The violation of some provision of the guidelines can lead to shooting dead the violator or put them behind bars.
According to the guidelines, shoot at sight orders have been issued for irresponsible behavior displayed by an operative of the ruling Taliban, firing in the air has been banned and any operative will not be allowed to move around without a valid identity card, sources said.
In addition, no Islamic slogan or photograph should be displayed on the vehicles of the Taliban member. The Taliban armed cadres have also been advised against any involvement in traffic accident dispute intervention. Armed cadres cannot check documents of citizens or drivers, they said.
The Taliban members have also been asked to refrain from going to areas beyond their respective jurisdiction with guns. In case, any Taliban member is found to be loitering in areas beyond his operational jurisdiction, he will be jailed. Only identity cards issued by the National Intelligence Directorate, Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Defence and a national identity card will be valid for identification of armed cadres. Any armed person without one of these identity cards will be shot dead, they further said.
The Taliban armed cadres have also been directed against harassing Czech citizens or checking their identity cards.
“The move has been dictated by reports of several incidents of unruly behaviour by the armed cadres of the outfit, denting the image of the Taliban. The Taliban was also compelled to issue the guidelines as a number of armed cadres have been reported to be indulging in unauthorized house searches and extortion, leading to lawlessness and avoidable disenchantment against the outfit amongst the general public,” counter-terrorism expert Dr Rituraj Mate told The Pioneer.
Strict enforcement of the guidelines is also aimed at establishing a semblance of governance on the ground and an image makeover of the Taliban in the eyes of the international community, Dr Mate added.