Human Rights Watch slams ‘ruthless’ Taliban govt after ban on protest

Human Rights Watch slams 'ruthless' Taliban govt after ban on protest.

Key points

• Elaine Pearson, Asia director for Human Rights Watch, remarked the measure is "another step in the Taliban's ruthless effort to suppress all dissent".
• After a new police law banned demonstrations throughout Afghanistan, KABUL: Human Rights Watch slammed on Thu­rsday the "ruthless effort to suppress all dissent" by the Taliban administration.
• Amnesty International described the police law as "another sweeping assault on human rights in Afghanistan", with the protest ban "among its most egregious provisions".
• "The Taliban authorities fear any dissent and so they are escalating their repression, " she remarked in an official note.

Human Rights Watch slams 'ruthless' Taliban govt after ban on protest. AFP Published August 28, 2026 Updated August 28, 2026 08: 08am. Join our Whatsapp Channel. Add Dawn as a trusted source.

In practice, the 84-page legislation published by the justice ministry outlines a series of changes to law enforcement nationwide, including the rule that "all types of protests are banned".

Notably, the Afghan administration did not respond to requests for comment on protests being outlawed through the legislation. It was produced public this month.

Demonstrations have been rare during the Taliban administration's five years in power. At least two individuals were killed in June when security forces allegedly opened fire at a women's rights protest in Herat, a group of UN experts stated.

Amnesty International described the police law as "another sweeping assault on human rights in Afghanistan", with the protest ban "among its most egregious provisions". Published in Dawn, August 28th, 2026.

For now, human Rights Watch slams 'ruthless' Taliban govt after ban on protest remains the part of the story worth watching, and further updates are likely as more details are confirmed.