Key Details:

Time Period: May 8 to June 23, 2023

Location: Sarcheshma and Siah Khak areas, Jalrez District, Maidan Wardak Province

Number of Detainees: At least 32

Ethnicity of Detainees: Predominantly Hazara

Alleged Reason: Complaint by Pashtun Kuchi nomads over 420 missing sheep from 2019

Resolution Date: September 1, 2023

Imposed Fine: 1,750,000 Afghanis on 23 local residents

Between May 8 and June 23, 2023, Taliban forces detained and imprisoned at least 32 residents, primarily of Hazara ethnicity, from the Sarcheshma and Siah Khak areas of Jalrez District in Maidan Wardak Province. The Taliban cited a complaint from Pashtun Kuchi nomads as the reason for these detentions, relating to 420 sheep allegedly lost in the area in 2019. According to reports, the livestock was allegedly appropriated at the time by Abdul Ghani Alipour, an anti-Taliban military commander who is currently believed to be outside Afghanistan. However, the Kuchi nomads argued that since the animals were lost in this area, the local people should be held responsible for compensation. On September 1, 2023, the Taliban's Commission for Resolving Kuchi and Settler Disputes in Maidan Wardak issued a decision. They ordered 23 residents of the Sarcheshma area to pay 1,750,000 Afghanis (Afghanistan currency) as compensation to the Kuchi nomads.