A couple who eloped together have been brutally killed by the Taliban after a request from their family
A 25-year-old man and 19-year-old woman who eloped together have been stoned to death in a shocking display of Taliban power.
The Afghan couple were brutally killed when their own families requested that the Taliban arrest the pair after the couple, who were engaged to other people, ran away together.
An Amnesty International spokesman said: ‘The stoning of this couple is a heinous crime. The Taliban and other insurgent groups are growing increasingly brutal in their abuses against Afghans.’
Nader Nadery, a senior commissioner on the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission, agrees. Worryingly, he believes the attacks show ‘a sign of new confidence on the part of the Taliban in the application of their rules.’
In the last few years, Taliban officials have played down their brutal and bloody reputation associated with the 1990s in order to gather support from the public.
These executions, however, are the latest in a series of crimes that represent a renewed stronghold on the country.
The Taliban are now regularly exercising their powers, imposing their severe version of sharia law for social crimes.
Earlier this year, reports revealed that Islamic militants had whipped and then stoned to death a women accused of adultery.
A UN report last week indicated that civilian casualties in Afghanistan were up by 31%, and that the Taliban and other insurgents were culpable for 76% of these.
Despite this, some Afghans still refer to Taliban courts to preside over social disputes, believing that the government bodies are too corrupt and untrustworthy.
