COMMON ANALYSIS
Last update: June 2026
This profile refers to persons fearing recruitment against their will by the Taliban or the ISKP. For child recruitment, see 3.14.2. Child recruitment.
The analysis below is based on the following EUAA COI products: Country Focus 2026, 2.4., 4.1.1.; Country Focus 2024, 2.6.; Country Guidance should not be referred to as a source of COI.
The de facto authorities have created a new national military force on a voluntary basis, in which their own members have been recruited preferentially. No sources reported on forced recruitment carried out by the Taliban; instead reports described a situation where joining the de facto security structure is desirable as there are few other job opportunities in the country.
Some former security personnel have been invited in the de facto military forces due to their specialist skills and have gone back to work, possibly out of fear, reasoning that it is the best security against possible reprisals.
No information about forced recruitment by the ISKP was found in the reference period. The ISKP reportedly sought to recruit individuals with a militant Salafi profile and particularly religious students. It was reported that the new ISKP leader was focusing on recruiting more educated individuals and had extended recruitment to non-Salafists. Sources noted that the ISKP has ‘capitalised on the Taliban’s harassment of Salafists’. The most common pathway to join the ISKP is through personal relationships or through religious institutions.
Step 1: Do the reported acts amount to persecution?
Forced recruitment amounts to persecution. The consequences of refusal of (forced) recruitment could also amount to persecution.
Step 2: What is the level of risk of persecution?
No cases of forced recruitment were reported during the reference period, therefore a well-founded fear of persecution would in general not be substantiated.