The Afghanistan Freedom Front (AFF) has declared the Taliban’s Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice a legitimate military target following the arrest of dozens of women by Taliban morality police in Kabul.

In a statement issued on Friday, the AFF condemned the arrests as a violation of moral values, human rights, and Afghanistan’s deeply rooted religious and cultural traditions. The group warned that the Taliban and its enforcers would bear direct responsibility for the consequences of what it called “inhumane actions” and pledged retaliation.

The announcement follows the detention of nearly 100 young women by Taliban forces in the Shahr-e Naw area of Kabul on Wednesday. According to sources who spoke to Afghanistan International, the women were taken from streets, markets, and hospitals and transferred to facilities operated by the Taliban’s morality police.

The AFF condemned the mass arrests as a deliberate attack on personal freedoms, stating: “Violating personal boundaries, trampling on human dignity, social status, and women’s fundamental rights and freedoms is neither legitimate, justifiable, nor tolerable.”

The group vowed continued resistance against what it described as the Taliban’s “violent, inhumane, and criminal behaviour.”

The Taliban has not issued a formal statement explaining the motive behind the mass detentions. Human rights groups have repeatedly criticised the group for its treatment of women and the expansion of morality policing across Afghanistan.