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In a compound of the police headquarters in the city of Mazar-i-Sarif in North Afghanistan, a large crowd waited at the door of Wire Mesh. The entrance was guarded by a young Taliban fighters with long hair and beard, who sat in a broken plastic chair. Next to him was a large stack of shoes and flip-flops owned by those who had claimed to meet with the newly appointed Taliban police chief.
It was mid-October 2021, seven weeks since the US withdrawal from Afghanistan, and the Taliban are now responsible for the country. In the big office, Abu Idrees, police chief – who has since been promoted to the Deputy Governor of the Balkh Province, where Mazar is the capital – sitting on the couch, avoiding a large table that stretches almost wide the room, which is a symbol of the previous regime authority. Short and muscular, with a wide shoulder and a big head wrapped in the black turban, he was flanked by his deputies and sub-commanders.
Throughout the day, man – and there is only a man – entering the room, squatting on the floor in front of Abu Idrees. In silent voices, they begged their cases, answering calls or promising their eternal support with the Taliban regime. In theory, anyone can come and demand an audience, something that has never happened under the previous government, when people have to pay bribes and pull the string even to see low-ranking police officers, especially the police chief themselves.
In a compound of the police headquarters in the city of Mazar-i-Sarif in North Afghanistan, a large crowd waited at the door of Wire Mesh. The entrance was guarded by a young Taliban fighters with long hair and beard, who sat in a broken plastic chair. Next to him was a large stack of shoes and flip-flops owned by those who had claimed to meet with the newly appointed Taliban police chief.
It was mid-October 2021, seven weeks since the US withdrawal from Afghanistan, and the Taliban are now responsible for the country. In the big office, Abu Idrees, police chief – who has since been promoted to the Deputy Governor of the Balkh Province, where Mazar is the capital – sitting on the couch, avoiding a large table that stretches almost wide the room, which is a symbol of the previous regime authority. Short and muscular, with a wide shoulder and a big head wrapped in the black turban, he was flanked by his deputies and sub-commanders.
Throughout the day, man – and there is only a man – entering the room, squatting on the floor in front of Abu Idrees. In silent voices, they begged their cases, answering calls or promising their eternal support with the Taliban regime. In theory, anyone can come and demand an audience, something that has never happened under the previous government, when people have to pay bribes and pull the string even to see low-ranking police officers, especially the police chief themselves.
