Taliban force reduction; focus on removing Tajik and Uzbek fighters.
The United Nations Security Council has reported that the Taliban have dismissed thousands of their members due to a severe budget crisis.
According to the report released on Thursday, December 18, 2025, the majority of those removed are Tajik and Uzbek fighters, particularly in provinces with significant Tajik and Uzbek populations.
The report states that the Taliban leadership ordered the reduction, and the dismissals mainly affected non-Pashtun members.
While the UN did not explicitly link the removals to ethnicity, it noted that the pattern raises serious concerns about potential ethnic consequences.
The highest numbers of dismissals were recorded after Badakhshan in the provinces of Kapisa, Parwan, and Takhar, where many Taliban forces are of Tajik and Uzbek origin. This development comes amid ongoing criticism over the Taliban’s mono-ethnic power structure, with repeated calls for the formation of an inclusive government.
