Date: 24/11/1403

Sources report that Abdul Karim Hassib, Director General of the Taliban’s Passport Office in Kabul, has dismissed six Hazara employees from the office over the past week. The dismissed staff included four women and two men, each with approximately ten years of work experience.

According to the sources, the director general tore up the employees’ identification cards and expelled them from the directorate. The female employees had been working in the biometrics and data department, while the male employees were employed in the distribution and provincial data sections. Sources further stated that the head of the Passport Office has threatened to dismiss additional Hazara employees.

The dismissal of Hazara employees from the Kabul Passport Office by the Taliban, accompanied by the destruction of identification cards and threats of further firings, indicates targeted ethnic and gender-based discrimination within state institutions. Removing experienced staff without due process and explicitly threatening a specific ethnic group reflects the use of public employment as a tool of exclusion and intimidation. The incident contributes to a broader pattern of marginalization of Hazaras and women from public service under Taliban rule.