The Taliban conducted a double public execution at a stadium in southeastern Afghanistan on Thursday as thousands witnessed the killing of two convicted individuals while their victims’ relatives discharged the gunshot.
The Taliban’s Supreme Court had determined that the pair were accountable for the stabbing deaths of two victims in separate incidents, as per a court statement.
It identified the two as Syed Jamal from central Wardak province and Gul Khan from Ghazni — although it was unclear who carried out the stabbing, the two convicted men or others.
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The statement also mentioned that three lower courts and the Taliban’s supreme leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada, had sanctioned the executions in retaliation for their alleged crimes.
On Thursday, crowds gathered outside the stadium in the Ali Lala area of the city of Ghazni, scrambling to gain entry, while religious scholars implored the victims’ relatives to pardon the convicts, but they declined.
Abu Abu Khalid Sarhadi, a spokesman for Ghazni police, mentioned that relatives of the victims carried out the execution of the two men. He did not specify the type of firearms they used.
The executions commenced shortly before 1 p.m. Fifteen bullets were discharged, eight at one of the men and seven at the other. Subsequently, ambulances transported their bodies.
The killings marked the third and fourth public executions since the Taliban assumed power in 2021 amid the tumultuous withdrawal of U.S. and NATO forces from Afghanistan.
The United Nations has strongly condemned the Taliban for conducting public executions, lashings, and stonings since seizing power and urged the country’s rulers to cease such practices.
During their prior rule of Afghanistan in the late 1990s, the Taliban routinely conducted public executions, floggings, and stonings.