Hibatullah Akhundzada, the supreme leader of the Taliban, has issued a decree directing the removal of judicial and security records for individuals who collaborated with the Taliban during Afghanistan’s previous government.
He emphasised that unless these individuals are accused of crimes under the current Taliban regime, they should be presumed innocent.
In a decree issued on Sunday, 22 December, Akhundzada instructed that all cases involving such individuals, whether prosecuted or convicted by previous governments, must be expunged from administrative and electronic systems.
The decree mandates that relevant institutions delete the names and records of these individuals from biometric databases, administrative documents, court rulings, intelligence and security archives, and electronic systems. Akhundzada further asserted that these individuals should remain innocent in the eyes of the Taliban authorities unless proven guilty of new offences.
There are concerns, however, that this directive could enable the Taliban to erase or destroy administrative documents deemed unfavourable by its officials.
This latest move is consistent with previous efforts by the Taliban to protect former collaborators. Over the past three years, the group has also provided special benefits to the families of their supporters, including those who carried out suicide attacks.
