Taliban unveil new uniforms for reconstituted police force

• Taliban’s reformed Afghan police force receives new uniforms.
• New uniforms replace the republican flag with the Taliban’s Islamic Emirate flag. 20,000 uniforms were created under contract from a local firm.
• The new uniformed police force will be deployed in Kabul and Kandahar provinces.

The Taliban’s reformed Afghan police force received new uniforms on Wednesday, as the de facto government tries to move away from utilising rebel military troops to maintain law and order.

The Western-backed government and security forces disintegrated in the face of Taliban military advances when foreign forces withdrew last year, ending a 20-year conflict.

At a news conference, the interior ministry, overseen by Taliban leaders, revealed that a new uniform for the police force had been prepared.
The significant differences were the colour, which was now dark green instead of grey-blue, and the replacement of Afghanistan’s tri-colored republican flag with the Taliban’s Islamic Emirate flag on the new uniforms worn by some officers at the briefing.

The Taliban rejects the traditional republican flag, which was flown by Western-backed governments after foreign forces overthrew the Taliban regime in 2001.

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When the Taliban ruled from 1996 to 2001, they used the Islamic Emirate flag, which is white with black Arabic calligraphy reflecting Islam’s main tenet.

Mawlawi Noor Jalal Jalali, the Acting Deputy Interior Minister, said a police force with new uniforms had been a key goal since he took office, but he didn’t say how big it would be.

Abdul Nafi Takor, a spokesperson for the interior ministry, said 20,000 uniforms were created under contract from a local firm and 100,000 more would be made in the coming weeks.

The new uniformed police force will be deployed initially in Kabul and Kandahar provinces.

The Taliban are attempting to transition away from being an insurgent force, but they have employed their much feared and relatively untrained fighters to restore law and order after the previous police force was dismantled following the fall of the government.

According to Takor, the new force kept some personnel but mostly inducted Taliban members.

Over 50,000 individuals had completed short training courses, and 400 officers had completed the extended course, according to Jalali.

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