Two Taliban members in Herat province (Amu Tv)

AFGHANISTAN: TALIBAN DETAIN COUPLE IN KABUL OVER ALLEGED ‘ILLICIT RELATIONSHIP’

May 11, 2026:

The Taliban morality police detained a man and his wife in western Kabul on May 3, 2026 on allegations of having an “illicit relationship,” despite the couple being married, according to local sources.
The sources told Amu TV that the couple was stopped by Taliban enforcers, known as muhtasibs, while leaving their home to go shopping. They were taken into custody and transferred to a local police station.
According to the sources, the detained woman said she was forced to clean women’s detention cells while in custody.
The man was asked to provide photographs and sign a written pledge, though details of the document were not immediately clear, the sources said.
The couple has denied the accusation and claimed their detention was not related to the allegation but rather due to their ethnic background, saying they were targeted because they are Hazara, a predominantly Shiite minority group in Afghanistan.
The incident comes amid broader concerns about discrimination and treatment of minorities under Taliban rule.
In recent days, a video circulating on social media appeared to show a patient in a hospital in Kandahar being discharged without surgery, with claims that the decision was linked to the patient’s Hazara identity.
The patient has since reportedly been transferred to Kabul for treatment.
Rights groups and local observers have documented multiple allegations of discrimination and arbitrary treatment affecting minority communities since the Taliban returned to power in 2021.
Taliban have not commented on the reported detention in Kabul.