Taliban inmates’ deaths in custody denied

KANDAHAR CITY (PAN allegation that their 32 prisoners had been tortured to death in district jails.

A Taliban spokesman Qari Yousuf Ahmadi in a statement has alleged 18 Taliban inmates were killed in detention by police in Arghistan district, six in Spin Boldak and eight in Takhta Pul over the past few days.

But Police Chief Gen. Abdul Razaaq denied the accusation as baseless, calling it propaganda to earn people’s sympathy for Taliban inmates.

“If police have to kill inmates, they would have killed more than 1800 inmates held in Kandahar prisons,” he said.

“When militants attack our checkpoints and kill policemen, they say it is jihad but when they are killed by police in retaliatory fire, the Taliban then complain,” he added.

He said operations against insurgents were ongoing in Maroof, Arghistan, Panjwai, Maiwand, Khakrez and some other districts.

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