As reported on June 4, 2026, the Taliban security command in Herat Province announced that two-armed robbers were killed following a clash with members of the group in the Injil District.
On May 30,2026, armed robbers killed a 60-year-old man, Mohammad Asif Naseri, inside his grocery shop in the Chahar Qala area of Kabul city’s District 6.
On May 25, 2026, a former military officer, who had also served under the Taliban, Nurullah, was killed by armed robbers in the Arzanqimat area of Kabul. Nurullah had served in the Taliban’s Mansouri Corps, stationed in the Khost and Paktia provinces.
As reported on May 22, 2026, armed robbers stormed into Khwaja Mohammad Tali Commercial Center in Herat city, looting significant amounts of cash and goods. The armed group initially tied up the security guard and completely destroyed all surveillance cameras.
On May 20, 2026, Hashmatullah Rahmani, Spokesperson for the Taliban Police Command in Samangan Province, discloed that a 27-year-old man’s body was discovered by local residents inside a garden in Aybak city, the provincial capital. The motive behind the killing remains unclear.
On May 19, 2026, unidentified gunmen killed a tribal elder of Kalamtar village in the Dand District of Kandahar Province. The motive behind the killing remains unclear.
On May 5, 2026, Sahibullah Nazar, a well-known figure, was killed in the Surkh Rod District of Nangarhar Province. Gunmen targeted him near his home, who then fled the scene. The motive behind the attack was not clear.
On April 24, 2026, a young man was killed by armed robbers in the Bolan area of 10th District of Lashkargah city in Helmand Province. Sources indicated that the young man had sold his car and was on his home with the money, when the robbers shot him dead on the road and decamped with the money.
Afghanistan is witnessing a discernible surge in criminal incidents, including homicides, armed robberies, thefts, and physical assaults. Though the country is grappling with severe media restrictions, scattered media reports indicate that these crimes are happening across the length and breadth of Afghanistan, especially in the Helmand, Badakhshan, Herat, Kabul, Balkh, Parwan, Faryab and Jawzjan provinces, among others.
According to a World Bank report, Afghanistan Economic Monitor, published in December 2025, the Taliban administration spent about 96.9 billion Afghanis (USD1.4 billion), on security in the first nine months of the 2025 fiscal year.
Yet, as reported on January 28, 2026, figures published in November 2025 by the Taliban Interior Ministry showed criminal cases, particularly murder and theft, rising sharply. Total criminal cases reached 17,320 in the solar hijri year 1403 (March 2024-March 2025), up from 10,834 in 1400 (March 2021-March 2022). The figure rose to 12,688 in 1401 and 16,186 in 1402, reflecting an overall increase of about 60 per cent since the Taliban’s return. Between March 2024 and March 2025, 1,734 murders were recorded, compared with 1,502 between March 2021 and 2022, an increase of more than 15 percent. The statistics authority reported 6,225 thefts between March 2024 and March 2025, compared with 3,102 between March 2021 and March 2022, a 100 percent increase.
The transition to the current Taliban-led judiciary has fractured institutional continuity with the previous government. Trained judges, legal personnel, and public prosecutors have been replaced by Taliban members who largely lack formal legal credentials. Consequently, modern legal procedures have given way to swift, summary adjudications. On the contrary, the Taliban, is trying to portray itself as a “regime based on justice and punishment for the criminals.” According to United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA’s) Update on the human rights situation in Afghanistan: January to March, 2026:
On 1 January, the Deputy Spokesperson [Hamdullah Fitrat] for the de facto authorities announced that in 2025 de facto courts adjudicated approximately 241,799 criminal and civil cases, resolved about 54,956 cases through reconciliation [mediation], applied Qisas (retributive punishment) to six people in four provinces (Farah, Nimroz, Badghis, and Khost), and applied discretionary punishment to 1,118 criminals and accused… During the reporting period, the de facto Supreme Court issued 29 announcements highlighting the de facto courts’ role in mediating 33 cases of killings in 17 provinces, including cases of murder potentially involving Qisas, and unintentional killings.”
In reality, the rise of crime in Afghanistan has several recognizable causes. First, when the Taliban took power, prison doors were thrown open and large numbers of inmates were freed. In the month of August, 2021, the Taliban released thousands of prisoners from the Pul-e-Charki prison on the outskirts of Kabul city, which held around 5,000 prisoners. Many of those released later joined the Taliban ranks, playing a role in consolidating power and looting public assets, before contributing to the spread of violent crime. Regrettably, The Taliban has continued with this policy through periodic amnesties, especially during Eid festivals. In a statement issued on March 18, 2026, the Supreme Court of Taliban announced that, in addition to the 4,596 released prisoners, the sentences of 4,407 other inmates were also reduced, ahead of Eid al-Fitr.
Further, the proliferation of small arms has accelerated criminal activities across Afghanistan. According to the Small Arms Survey’s March 2025 Briefing Paper, Open Markets: Documenting Arms Availability in Afghanistan under the Taliban, based on extensive field investigations from 2022 to early 2025, M4 and M16 rifles, along with other US-supplied weapons. continued to be widely available in informal markets across Afghanistan and in the Afghanistan-Pakistan border regions. Significantly, more than 300,000 of the total of 427,300 weapons the US gave to Afghan forces remained in Afghanistan at the time of the US military withdrawal. Less than 1,537,000 of the “specialty munitions” and “common small arms ammunition,” valued at a total of USD 48 million, are still in the country.
Extortion racketeering is also causing surge in the criminal activities. According to the Global Organized Crime Index 2025 – Crime at a crossroads, extortion and protection racketeering is widespread in Afghanistan and this illicit market is a significant revenue source for criminal groups. Since 2021, these practices have been formalized and incorporated into both existing and newly established ‘taxation’ systems. Nonetheless, businesses, legal trade sectors and individuals remain vulnerable to extortion by former warlords and other powerful actors seeking financial gain. For instance, as reported on April 21, 2026, armed robbers were stopping vehicles along the Herat-Ghor highway and stealing money and belongings from passengers and civilians. Ismatullah Raihan, Police Chief of Karukh District in Herat Province, stated: “These thieves had been operating as a major criminal gang for about three to four months, carrying out robberies.” Earlier, as reported on February 12, 2026, in Qarabagh District of Kabul, local gangs operating under the cover of Taliban authority have been demanding daily or weekly “protection money” from street vendors and small shopkeepers, with non-payment resulting in harassment and physical violence.
The drug trade is fueling organized crime, including arms trafficking and human smuggling in Afghanistan. The illegal drug and weapons trades are closely linked. As stated by United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in November, 2025, “As agricultural-based opiate production declines, synthetic drugs appear to have become the new business model for organized crime groups due to the relative ease of production, the greater difficulty in detection and relative resilience to climate changes…” According to another UNODC report of June 25, 2025, “people openly gather to use drugs in locations such as graveyards, under bridges, parks, abandoned buildings and farmlands. More than 100 of these sites were located in Kabul and Kandahar alone. A third of those who used drugs admitted to engaging in criminal activity to fund their addiction.”
The criminal acts are making the life of a common Afghan more and more dreadful. The surge in street crime presents an acute challenge to Afghanistan’s internal security framework. There is no doubt that the Taliban regime has failed to neutralize the underlying triggers fueling these acts amidst severe lawlessness.
