ISlamabad –
The Taliban beat three women and nine men in front of hundreds of spectators at a provincial sports stadium on Wednesday, signaling the religious extremist group will resume a brutal form of punishment that has marked sign of their rule in the 1990s.
The governor’s office in Logar province, south of the capital Kabul, invited “honored scholars, mujahideen, elders, tribal leaders and locals” to the stadium in the town of Pul Alam in Logar. Invitations for the 9 a.m. event have been sent out via social media.
An official in the governor’s office, who asked not to be named, said the people received between 21 and 39 lashes after being convicted in local court of theft and adultery.
The official said hundreds of people attended the beating and a ban on photography and video was in place.
This resumption of activity underscores the Taliban’s intention to abide by their strict interpretation of Islamic law, or Sharia.
“Sharia law is the only solution to the problems in Afghanistan and must be implemented,” Logar’s deputy governor, Enayatullah Shuja, later said in a statement about the beating.
Such public spankings, as well as public executions and stoning for purported crimes, were common during the first period of Taliban rule, from 1996 to 2001 when the This warrior was driven out during the US-led invasion.
After 20 years of insurgency, the Taliban returned to power in August 2021, coinciding with the withdrawal of US and other troops from the country.
Shortly after taking over the country for a second time, the Taliban promised to be more moderate and allow the rights of women and minorities. Instead, they are restricted in their rights and freedoms, including a ban on educating girls after sixth grade.
The first confirmed public spanking since the Taliban takeover took place on 11 November last year, when 19 men and women were beaten 39 times each for alleged theft, adultery and abandonment. home go.
Former insurgents have struggled in their transition from war to rule amid an economic downturn and a refusal by the international community to officially recognize it.
