Afghan acting defence minister orders forces to respect amnesty

KABUL, Afghanistan: Mullah Mohammad Yaqoob, the defense minister of the caretaker cabinet said in an audio message ordering all the Taliban forces to respect the general amnesty that was announced by the Taliban leadership following the takeover of Kabul.

Yaqoob in his message said following the amnesty announcement no one is allowed to take revenge against anyone in the country.According to him, any Taliban member who has any personal conflict should take the case to the court and solve the problem there.

The defense minister also said he has heard reports that the Taliban forces have killed people with whom they had personal conflicts, adding such cases will not be tolerated. The defense minister’s message came after the allegations were levelled by a number of families of former security personnel who say some members of their families have been jailed by the Taliban forces. The families said their members are still being detained and urged the Taliban to free them.