The Kabul John Does are 13 men who were discovered buried in the backyard of serial killer Shirin Gul and her family. While 19 bodies were discovered overall in the area, only 6 were conclusively identified. Kabul authorities have reported to have received 13 inquiries from different families, though these have not led to any further identifications. Due to the unstable political climate in Afghanistan at the time of their discovery and in the present period, it is unlikely that they will be identified any time in the approaching future.
Due to the Gul's modus operandi, it is likely that most of the men were taxi drivers.
Case[]
In June of 2004, police in Kabul were investigating the murder of businessman Haji Mohammed Anwar when they were led to the house of the Gul family from a call made by Anwar before his death mentioning visiting them for a probable property deal. Upon investigating the home, police discovered several documents about separate cars, license plates, guns, abnormal amounts of shoes socially accepted in Afghan culture, an abundance of gold, and the clothing of Anwar. Furthermore, police were alerted to the uneven nature of the family's backyard, leading to authorities excavating the site and discovering 19 bodies. Amongst the bodies, authorities found the body of Mohammed Azam, the former husband of the Gul matriarch, Shirin.
Immediately, Shirin Gul was detained alongside her boyfriend, Rahmatullah, and her adult son, Samiullah. During interrogations, the family admitted to committing several killings around Pakistan, along with Rahmatullah being named as the person who had murdered Azam. According to Shirin, Azam had aided in the initial killings but was murdered by his accomplice Rahmatullah after he and Shirin began having an affair. Shirin claims that Azam had abused her and forced her into prostitution, which led to her indifference to his killing.
Reportedly, the family operated by having Rahmatullah or Samiullah order taxis while Shirin was suffering from an illness in Pakistan. The men would then convince the taxi drivers to visit their home for cups of tea, which is not an uncommon form of hospitality in Afghan culture. Shirin would then feed the men kebabs laced with sedatives and then a member of the family would strangle them. Finally, once the victim was deceased, the family would contact several accomplices to transport the taxis driven by the victims over the Pakistani border and sell them. The money paid for the purchase of the taxis would then be transported to the family. According to the Gul family, these murders were simply to gain more money, with Rahmatullah spoiling Shirin and Samiullah with lavish gifts. Then, when they had moved to Kabul, they buried the bodies in their backyard.
Following their detainment, Rahmatullah was independently tried and convicted of at least one murder, receiving a sentence of 17 years in prison. Shirin has remained in prison ever since her detainment in 2004 due to her becoming pregnant while detained. Due to her and Rahmatullah being separated at the time, it is believed she may have been raped by a prison guard, though many news outlets claim she had 'seduced' the guard. Shirin has since been tasked with raising her young daughter, though her final sentence remains uncertain due to the Taliban's reclamation of Afghanistan due to her committing or aiding in a total of 27 murders. Samiullah's sentence has not been disclosed to the public.
As of 2022, authorities have received 13 inquiries from families of missing men in Pakistan and Afghanistan since the discovery of the bodies in 2004, though this has only led to 5 of the men being identified, leaving 13 unidentified.