In August this year, the The Taliban celebrated the completion of three years of their autocratic rule in Afghanistan. With the capture of Kabul on August 15, 2021, following a major offensive launched in May of the same year, the militant group returned to power 20 years after being driven from the South Asian nation by an invasion led by the United States.

The return of the Taliban led to the ouster and flight of then-President Ashraf Ghani and coincided with the hasty and disorderly withdrawal of US troops stationed in the country, a decision that led to the widespread criticism of US President Joe Biden’s administration.

After the fall of the country, the Taliban slowly but surely imposed a number of restrictions under Sharia law. The regime, predominantly dominated by men, prohibits women from working and girls were not allowed to attend schools and colleges.

The Taliban then promised to reopen girls’ schools in March 2022, but backtracked on their statement. This year, the activist group also banned polio vaccination for childrenwithout giving a reason.

Fearing Taliban rule, millions of people fled the country following the 2021 invasion. Some are still trying to flee, even fearing risking their lives in doing so.

One such person is a teacher-turned-Taliban commander, who spoke to Aaj Tak, India Today’s sister website, who wants to flee Afghanistan on the pretext of illness.

“I can’t be patient anymore. I will take my children and leave. Turkey, Tajikistan or Syria, whatever country can provide us shelter. I will go where I can start my own business. I know how to teach, I will go to a country where I can work hard,” said the commander, whose identity was withheld for security reasons.

Recalling his past life before the Taliban takeover, he said he taught girls, but with constant fear of the militant group’s return to Afghanistan one day.

“I already had a suspicion of their arrival. I let my beard grow, I started to prepare the girls so that they would not be discouraged by suddenly having to stay at home. But the most disturbing thing about it was that I was going to enforce these rules and regulations myself in the future. With the fall of the government (of Ashraf Ghani), I became a member of the Taliban, commander of. their intelligence department,” he added.

As a Taliban commander, his job now is to monitor whether people are joining al-Qaeda or the Islamic State or whether they are in cahoots with another terrorist group. He also ensures that there is no rebellion among the local population against the Taliban regime.

“My job is to spy and punish anyone who hides a secret. I don’t punish myself, my subordinates do. If the crime is serious, we must inform the higher authorities, then they decide. We must be present . in the office from 9 a.m. to 3 or 4 p.m. This is what we get paid for.

He said the Taliban’s first target is educated people, who are selected and removed from office. “I was one of them, the Taliban met me, they knew my past and that I was known. I was helpless. There was no work and I was afraid of lose my life if I refused.”

He tried to flee several times, but his wife refused because she is very strict in her views and extremely religious. “She prefers to wear the veil.”

Between conversations with Aaj Tak, the commander receives videos on his phone of women covered in veils, shopping in a market.

“Before, everything was open. There were rules, but with limits. Now, everything is restricted. Women who tried to leave disappeared, were raped or their bodies were found by the side of the road. Nobody knows who committed the crime.”

He said that if ordinary people make a mistake, they are imprisoned. “But if we, members of the regime, commit a crime, the punishment is death. My family will not be spared either.”

“I’m afraid that one day the Taliban leaders will start suspecting me, they will ask for my phone. If I didn’t leave the country, my family would also be in danger with me,” he said, adding that There were risks. there is no shortage of informants. “From the soldier who brings me tea to the soldier who opens the car door, anyone can spy. In return, they are rewarded.”

The commander also said the Taliban had promised not to repeat their previous mistakes. “But in a week, the promises vanished. The prison doors were opened. Criminals, murderers, terrorists, supporters of the Taliban, were on the loose. Soldiers fled. Police stations were looted. “

Speaking about how the Taliban selects its commanders, he said the regime takes into account the person’s entire background, “but fanaticism is the first condition. The more intensity you show, the more you will get respect”.

Asked about his dislike for the militant group, even though it works for them, the commander said: “The Taliban are neither completely Islamic nor civilian. They know how to control through bloodshed. As soon as they arrived, they began to control the group. They explained to the men that their job is to make the women respect the rules. My mother, wife and daughter have all been housebound for three years.

“If you are a woman, the change of season for you means taking out clothes as needed or cooking seasonal dishes. You can only see the morning dawn or the setting sun when there is no stranger in the area.”

He lamented that he could never return to his old job as a teacher and that he was already on the Taliban’s radar.

“Some of my former students still talk to me. By learning to make kebabs, they will gradually forget their first years as students and at school. I will also be forgotten.”

The commander said he is often reminded of Kabul’s colorful walls when driving through the city’s streets. “Now posters of instructions and restrictions have replaced wall paintings. These black and white posters are the future of a colorless Afghanistan.”