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Khost city of Afghanistan An incident occurred which shocked, disturbed and frightened the entire world. A crowd of 80,000 people in a sports stadium, dust in the sky, the buzz of the crowd, and in the middle of it stands a 13-year-old boy, becoming the bearer of ‘justice’ for his own ruined world. This was the moment a child shot the man convicted of murdering his entire family of 13 people, including nine children.

In a country where the lines of justice and retribution have blurred over the years, this scene is not just a punishment but a psychological image of a broken society caught between unseen suffering and draconian power. This was not just an execution, it was a dangerous sign of the direction of Afghanistan’s civil life and justice system.

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Death sentence given in the stadium

Thousands of people gathered at the sports stadium in Khost on Tuesday. This was not a play day. This was the day when the Taliban turned the death of a convict into a public spectacle. A person named Mangal was given death sentence by the Afghan Supreme Court for the murder of the family. Supreme Leader of Taliban Hibatullah Akhundzada approved this order. As soon as five bullets were fired, slogans were raised from the crowd. The confluence of religion, revenge and power had taken a horrifying form.

Qisas imposed on 13 year old boy

According to Taliban officials, the family was given the option of “amnesty”. But the 13-year-old member of the family whose childhood was cut short by the killer did not choose forgiveness. The same child now became a part of the process of “Qisas” and it was he who fired the bullet. According to local media Amu News, when asked if he wanted to forgive the murderer, he said ‘no’ in a calm but firm voice. At that very moment a child was made a soldier of vengeance.

Taliban’s ‘justice system’

This is not the first incident. The Taliban has carried out 11 public executions so far after returning to power in 2021. Under his rule, floggings, stadium punishments and public punishments in the name of Sharia are becoming common, as if the Afghanistan of the 90s has returned. Human rights organizations allege that there is neither transparency nor fair hearing in this system, only orders, fear and harsh display of power.

UN said- ‘Inhuman’

UN Special Envoy Richard Bennett described the incident as “despotic, cruel and contrary to international law”. He says that making children machines of vengeance is unacceptable in any civilized society in the world. The international community is continuously demanding the Taliban to stop public executions, but it does not seem to have any effect on the new regime of Afghanistan.

Murder, trial and verdict

A spokesman for the Taliban governor said that Mangal had murdered Abdul Rahman and his extended family 10 months ago. Three levels of court, trial, appeal and the Supreme Court convicted him. Although human rights organizations argue that the ‘judicial process’ is a mere formality, the actual decision is already decided.

A crowd of 80,000 saw justice

The gathering of such a large crowd is not just a question of seeing justice, but a way of demonstrating power. Thousands of people gathered in the stadium were watching the Taliban’s demonstration of “law enforcement”. The voice of “justice” was lost somewhere in the religious slogans, the sound of bullets and the frenzied reaction of the crowd.

Child’s finger and the future of society

This incident disturbed the global community the most because the person who pulled the trigger was himself a child. He may have completed his revenge, but the world is asking this question. Does making a 13 year old child a symbol of death amount to any kind of “justice”? The childhood of children in Afghanistan is being lost in graveyards, conflict and weapons and this incident is a horrifying example of that bitter truth.