Unprecedented Admission by the Taliban Regarding the Killing of Journalists
Mohammad Omar Mokhles, a former Taliban commander in Paktia Province, publicly acknowledged during his farewell ceremony that journalists had been deliberately targeted for killing. In his remarks, he denied the civilian and professional status of journalists, labeling them “traitors,” and described their pursuit and killing as intentional acts. He further acknowledged that many journalists survived only because they managed to escape the country.

During the event in Paktia Province, the Taliban commander stated: “We were killing those journalists. They were not journalists; they were traitors. We pursued them and killed them, but they managed to escape, stay alive, and reach their masters.”

The statement constitutes a rare public admission of intent and practice regarding violence against journalists, articulated in an official ceremonial setting and framed as morally and politically justified conduct.

The physical exclusion of women from UN offices and compounds in Kabul represents a direct escalation in the enforcement of the Taliban’s ban on women’s work in humanitarian and international organizations. By forcibly removing women from UN facilities and blocking access at gunpoint, the Taliban transform policy restrictions into spatial and physical segregation. This measure threatens the continuation of humanitarian operations while institutionalizing women’s exclusion from international engagement and public life.