Several dismissed employees of the Taliban-run Kabul municipality have accused Taliban officials of discriminatory and arbitrary treatment in the removal of professional staff.
According to the former employees, experienced and specialized workers who had served since the previous Afghan government are being removed under various pretexts and replaced with individuals linked to the Taliban.
The dismissed workers claim they were accused of negligence and absenteeism without valid justification, despite electronic attendance records that they say prove they had no unauthorized absences.
Engineer Rahmatullah, one of the dismissed employees, said he had worked for nearly nine years in the infrastructure registration and monitoring department before being removed over allegations of absenteeism and negligence.
He called on Taliban municipal authorities to review electronic attendance systems and official records to verify his claims.
Rahmatullah also reportedly submitted a letter to the Taliban-appointed mayor of Kabul alleging possible irregularities in construction projects and the approval process for building materials.
According to him, some Taliban officials obstructed legal reviews of those issues.
At the same time, local sources say a number of Hazara engineers have also been dismissed from municipal offices in different districts of Kabul despite having professional experience.
Sources say the dismissals have continued in Kabul’s fourth, sixth, and thirteenth districts, where employees have allegedly been removed under various pretexts.
Other reports describe heavy workloads and difficult working conditions for Kabul municipality laborers and staff, with some employees reportedly working from morning until evening, including on Thursdays, without proper labor conditions.
Allegations of increasing corruption in municipal projects have also emerged.
Sources claim that in some projects, construction materials are being used without transparent contracts, legal procedures, or laboratory testing, while some contracts are allegedly awarded to companies linked to Taliban officials.
Similar reports have previously surfaced regarding the dismissal of former government employees and their replacement with individuals close to the Taliban.
Critics warn that continuing such practices could weaken the technical and professional capacity of Afghan public institutions and deepen public distrust toward Taliban-controlled administrations.
Analysts say replacing professional expertise with political loyalty may have long-term consequences for governance, infrastructure quality, and public service delivery in Afghanistan.
