Five Senior Taliban Health Officials Detained Over Corruption Allegations
Five Senior Taliban Health Officials Detained Over Corruption Allegations
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At least five senior officials from the Taliban’s Ministry of Public Health have been arrested over alleged corruption, according to sources familiar with the matter. The detainees include Noorullah Darwish, head of documents and communications at the ministry, the minister’s chief of staff, a senior office administrator, a secretary, and a petitions manager.
The arrests were carried out by the Taliban intelligence unit Directorate 08 and later transferred to Directorate 40, known for interrogations and detention cases. The officials are accused of accepting bribes in exchange for pharmacy and wholesale medicine licenses, with payments reportedly around $5,000 for pharmacy permits and $3,500 for wholesale licenses.
The detainees are considered close to Public Health Minister Noor Jalal Jalali, who reportedly attempted to delay the arrests. Sources say internal rivalries between factions aligned with Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada and the Haqqani network may have influenced the timing of the detentions. Jalali is seen as aligned with the Haqqani faction.
The arrests come at a critical time for Afghanistan’s aid-dependent health sector, which has received roughly $794 million in humanitarian assistance from 2021 to early 2026, compared to $1.7 billion estimated as needed. The World Bank, WHO, UNICEF, and other international agencies continue to support clinics, vaccination campaigns, and basic services.
Access to health care in Afghanistan remains uneven, particularly in rural areas, and shortages of female health workers persist due to restrictions on women’s medical education.
The Taliban Ministry of Public Health has not commented on the arrests.
