Photos have emerged of the Taliban parading men through the streets tarred in black and nooses as fears grow the militants will reimpose brutal Sharia law.
The puritanical Islamic group first seized control of the country in 1994 led by former mujahideen commander Mohammad Omar.
The Taliban notoriously imposed strict punishments, including stoning suspected adulterers and carrying out public executions.
Women were barred from working, girls were banned from attending school. Men were forbidden from trimming their beards and women were forced to wear head-to-toe burkas.
Much of that changed when the US invaded in 2001, with women and ethnic minorities granted greater freedoms.
RELATED: Follow our coverage of the war in Afghanistan
Now the Taliban is again on the verge of taking power again — having taken control of the presidential palace in Kabul.
There are concerns the Taliban will roll back some of the newly-won freedoms for Afghan citizens.
In a sign of things to come, a photo on…