The assassination of General Akramuddin Saree and Commander Almas Kohestani in the heart of the Iranian capital represents a critical erosion of regional security norms and the collapse of the traditional sanctuary once offered to Afghan political exiles. General Saree served as the Provincial Police Commander for both Baghlan (2017–2019) and Takhar (2020–2021), he was instrumental in coordinating anti-Taliban operations across the volatile northern provinces.
His professional life was defined by a career-long commitment to the institutional defense of the Republic, making him a high-value target for the Taliban’s intelligence apparatus. His execution in a precision hit on foreign soil signifies that the Taliban’s reach is no longer geographically confined, and that regional powers are increasingly prioritizing transactional stability with the Emirate over the fundamental human rights of political refugees.
What makes this assassination particularly galling is that it was entirely predictable. Days before the gunmen found him, he went on record to warn that he was being hunted. He named the threat, cited the kill list being circulated by Taliban intelligence, and practically begged the Iranian authorities for the protection any political refugee should expect. Instead, he was left exposed. The fact that the hit occurred in a city as heavily monitored as Tehran suggests this wasn’t just a security lapse. It points toward a dark synergy between the Taliban’s intelligence Units and sections of the IRGC that have decided that an alliance with the Emirate is worth more than the lives of the political refugees.
Following the murders, the propaganda machines in both Kabul and Tehran swung into action with a familiar script. They are desperate to pin these killings on Pakistan. By framing the assassination as a Pakistani operation the IRGC tries to wash its hands of the blood spilled in its own streets, while the Taliban gets to maintain their thin veneer of diplomatic growth. The data, however, tells a different story. If you look at the geography of Afghan exile, the contrast is stark. While Pakistan has been aggressive in its deportation policies, the targeted, systematic assassination of former Republic generals has not been a feature of the landscape there. In Iran, the dynamic is shifting toward a strategic partnership where the IRGC treats the Taliban as partners. To secure water rights and border stability, Tehran has effectively turned its back on the very people it once supported, transforming into a proxy hunting ground for Taliban hit squads.
The killing of General Saree is a page taken directly from the Taliban’s historical playbook. This group has never viewed peace or diplomacy as anything other than a tactical pause to reload. They have a long, documented history of using the guise of dialogue to lure their most dangerous rivals into a position of vulnerability before striking. Think back to 1995 and the fate of Abdul Ali Mazari. The Hezb-e Wahdat leader was invited to talks, only to be disarmed, tortured, and thrown from a helicopter. That set the standard that Taliban don’t negotiate with rivals, they manage them until they can kill them. The same pattern holds for Ahmad Shah Massoud. While Al-Qaeda carried out the bombing, it was the Taliban who provided the safe haven and logistical infrastructure that allowed the Lion of Panjshir to be silenced just days before 9/11. They knew that as long as Massoud lived, their grip on the country would never be absolute.
The 2011 assassination of Burhanuddin Rabbani is perhaps the closest parallel to the Saree case. Rabbani, a former president, was killed by an operative carrying a bomb in his turban under the pretext of a peace mission. The Taliban’s 2021 declaration of a General Amnesty was one of the most successful PR lies of the modern era. Since they took Kabul, the reality on the ground has been a slow-motion purge. UNAMA documented at least 218 extrajudicial killings between August 2021 and June 2023, but even those numbers are likely a floor, not a ceiling.
The victims aren’t just names, they are the backbone of the former professional military and civil service. Human Rights Watch has meticulously documented dozens of cases that expose the amnesty as a hollow promise. In Ghazni, Allah Dad Halimi, a former district governor and ALP commander, was detained in October 2021 only for his body to be found the next day. In Helmand, ANSF commander Abdul Raziq vanished after surrendering on the day Kabul fell, while in Kandahar, Ahmadullah, a police commander from Arghandab, was abducted with his fate remaining unknown to this day. Even lower-ranking personnel like Dadullah, a former policeman in Kandahar, and Nazim from Kunduz, were tracked down and executed.
These cases, alongside the murder of Colonel Qasim Qaim, illustrate that the Taliban’s target list is granular and comprehensive. In the northern provinces, the killings are even more frequent and less publicized. The assassination of General Saree proves that this purge has gone global. If a general isn’t safe in a regional powerhouse like Tehran, no former soldier is safe anywhere. This event is a signal that the Taliban’s intelligence apparatus is now operating with a green light from some of its neighbors. By attempting to deflect the blame onto Pakistan, the Taliban and Iranian officials are merely trying to hide its own complicity in the liquidation of the Afghan opposition.
The international community needs to stop pretending the Taliban have changed. They haven’t evolved, they’ve just gotten better at outsourcing their violence. As long as regional powers prioritize transactional stability over the lives of political exiles, the kill lists will keep getting longer.
The Taliban’s Purge of Former Afghan Officials
The assassination of General Akramuddin Saree and Commander Almas Kohestani in the heart of the Iranian capital represents a critical erosion of regional security norms and the collapse of the traditional sanctuary once offered to Afghan political exiles. General Saree served as the Provincial Police Commander for both Baghlan (2017–2019) and Takhar (2020–2021), he was instrumental in coordinating anti-Taliban operations across the volatile northern provinces.
His professional life was defined by a career-long commitment to the institutional defense of the Republic, making him a high-value target for the Taliban’s intelligence apparatus. His execution in a precision hit on foreign soil signifies that the Taliban’s reach is no longer geographically confined, and that regional powers are increasingly prioritizing transactional stability with the Emirate over the fundamental human rights of political refugees.
What makes this assassination particularly galling is that it was entirely predictable. Days before the gunmen found him, he went on record to warn that he was being hunted. He named the threat, cited the kill list being circulated by Taliban intelligence, and practically begged the Iranian authorities for the protection any political refugee should expect. Instead, he was left exposed. The fact that the hit occurred in a city as heavily monitored as Tehran suggests this wasn’t just a security lapse. It points toward a dark synergy between the Taliban’s intelligence Units and sections of the IRGC that have decided that an alliance with the Emirate is worth more than the lives of the political refugees.
Following the murders, the propaganda machines in both Kabul and Tehran swung into action with a familiar script. They are desperate to pin these killings on Pakistan. By framing the assassination as a Pakistani operation the IRGC tries to wash its hands of the blood spilled in its own streets, while the Taliban gets to maintain their thin veneer of diplomatic growth. The data, however, tells a different story. If you look at the geography of Afghan exile, the contrast is stark. While Pakistan has been aggressive in its deportation policies, the targeted, systematic assassination of former Republic generals has not been a feature of the landscape there. In Iran, the dynamic is shifting toward a strategic partnership where the IRGC treats the Taliban as partners. To secure water rights and border stability, Tehran has effectively turned its back on the very people it once supported, transforming into a proxy hunting ground for Taliban hit squads.
The killing of General Saree is a page taken directly from the Taliban’s historical playbook. This group has never viewed peace or diplomacy as anything other than a tactical pause to reload. They have a long, documented history of using the guise of dialogue to lure their most dangerous rivals into a position of vulnerability before striking. Think back to 1995 and the fate of Abdul Ali Mazari. The Hezb-e Wahdat leader was invited to talks, only to be disarmed, tortured, and thrown from a helicopter. That set the standard that Taliban don’t negotiate with rivals, they manage them until they can kill them. The same pattern holds for Ahmad Shah Massoud. While Al-Qaeda carried out the bombing, it was the Taliban who provided the safe haven and logistical infrastructure that allowed the Lion of Panjshir to be silenced just days before 9/11. They knew that as long as Massoud lived, their grip on the country would never be absolute.
The 2011 assassination of Burhanuddin Rabbani is perhaps the closest parallel to the Saree case. Rabbani, a former president, was killed by an operative carrying a bomb in his turban under the pretext of a peace mission. The Taliban’s 2021 declaration of a General Amnesty was one of the most successful PR lies of the modern era. Since they took Kabul, the reality on the ground has been a slow-motion purge. UNAMA documented at least 218 extrajudicial killings between August 2021 and June 2023, but even those numbers are likely a floor, not a ceiling.
The victims aren’t just names, they are the backbone of the former professional military and civil service. Human Rights Watch has meticulously documented dozens of cases that expose the amnesty as a hollow promise. In Ghazni, Allah Dad Halimi, a former district governor and ALP commander, was detained in October 2021 only for his body to be found the next day. In Helmand, ANSF commander Abdul Raziq vanished after surrendering on the day Kabul fell, while in Kandahar, Ahmadullah, a police commander from Arghandab, was abducted with his fate remaining unknown to this day. Even lower-ranking personnel like Dadullah, a former policeman in Kandahar, and Nazim from Kunduz, were tracked down and executed.
These cases, alongside the murder of Colonel Qasim Qaim, illustrate that the Taliban’s target list is granular and comprehensive. In the northern provinces, the killings are even more frequent and less publicized. The assassination of General Saree proves that this purge has gone global. If a general isn’t safe in a regional powerhouse like Tehran, no former soldier is safe anywhere. This event is a signal that the Taliban’s intelligence apparatus is now operating with a green light from some of its neighbors. By attempting to deflect the blame onto Pakistan, the Taliban and Iranian officials are merely trying to hide its own complicity in the liquidation of the Afghan opposition.
The international community needs to stop pretending the Taliban have changed. They haven’t evolved, they’ve just gotten better at outsourcing their violence. As long as regional powers prioritize transactional stability over the lives of political exiles, the kill lists will keep getting longer.
SAT Commentary
SAT Commentary
SAT Commentaries, a collection of insightful social media threads on current events and social issues, featuring diverse perspectives from various authors.
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The Taliban’s Purge of Former Afghan Officials
The killing of General Akramuddin Saree in Tehran signals that the Taliban’s campaign against former Afghan officials has gone transnational. It reveals a dark convergence of Taliban intelligence operations and regional transactional politics that sacrifice political exiles for short-term stability.
US-Pakistan Cooperation in Trade, Technology, and Minerals
Natalie Baker signals a historic shift in the US-Pakistan ties, focusing on Reko Diq, agriculture, Fulbright programs, and a Green Alliance to strengthen trade, technology, and climate resilience.
India’s Offensive Defence Doctrines and Its Strategic Consequences
From the Sundarji Doctrine to Cold Start and 2025’s Operation Sindoor, India’s offensive doctrines aimed at rapid strikes against Pakistan repeatedly backfired, exposing operational gaps and narrowing its strategic options in multi-domain warfare.
Dancing on the Heads of Snakes
As 2025 ends, Yemen’s anti-Houthi coalition collapses. The Saudi-UAE split leaves rival militias and foreign powers vying for control, deepening the humanitarian crisis.
Weaponizing Civilian Infrastructure
Emerging security reports allege that civilian aviation and major transport hubs may be quietly repurposed as logistical conduits for the TTP. While unverified, these claims reinforce Pakistan’s long-standing warnings about external facilitation, plausible deniability, and the use of civilian infrastructure in grey-zone conflict along the western border.