Media reports say the house of Afghanistan's Ambassador to Tajikistan, Mohammad Zahir Aghbar, has been burned down by the Taliban in the Rukhin district of Afghanistan’s Panjshir province. 

A fire reportedly broke out in the house on the evening of June 11.  It has been reported that the house, located in the “Piyavasht” area of the district, caught fire and continued to burn until 8 pm due to a possible act of sabotage. 

Hasht-e Subh reports that two out of the three floors were destroyed by the fire.

The Taliban have reportedly been using this residence as a military base.   “The motive and perpetrators of this fire are still unknown, but locals say that this is the work of the Taliban themselves,” Hasht-e Subh says, noting that the Taliban did not claim responsibility for the fire.  

The ambassador is known for his support of the Resistance Front, an armed movement against the Taliban, and he claims the fire was the work of the Taliban. 

“Taliban should know that buildings may fall, but the spirit of resistance against oppression and terrorism is resolute and unshakable,” Mr. Aghbar wrote on his Facebook page. 

It is to be noted that this incident is not an isolated case of attacks on the houses of anti-Taliban opposition figures in Panjshir province.

In January 2023, the residence of Fazl Ahmad Manawi, the Minister of Justice of Afghanistan and a member of the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan, was also targeted and burned down by the Taliban, Afghanistan International reported on June 12.  

Additionally two schools, which were taken over by the Taliban, were reportedly burnt down in the last five months,

In a report released on June 8, International Amnesty (IA) says the Taliban have committed the war crime of collective punishment against civilians in Afghanistan’s Panjshir province.  The report documents serious international human rights and humanitarian law violations, including extrajudicial executions, torture, and mass arbitrary arrest and detention.