After the Taliban imposed new restrictions on the Muharram ceremony of Shia community members, Mawlawi Abdul Kabir, the Taliban’s acting Prime Minister met with several Shia clerics.
In the meeting, Abdul Kabir said that like other Afghans, Shias will be given equal rights under the Sharia law.
The Taliban’s acting prime minister’s press office added that Shia clerics and influential community members presented their suggestions during the meeting with Abdul Kabir.
The press office didn’t provide more details about the suggestions provided by the Shia clerics.
On the eve of the Muharram and Ashura ceremony, sources told Afghanistan International that the Taliban ordered Shias to refrain from raising Shia religious flags and providing water and food on the streets and roads during the month of Muharram.
The sources emphasised that the Taliban has not officially issued any order regarding these restrictions and has raised the issue verbally with the relevant figures in the community to address issues faced by the Shia population of Afghanistan.
After taking power in Afghanistan, the Taliban have not appointed Shia representatives to senior cabinet positions of the group’s government. During the past two years, Shia representatives have repeatedly met with senior Taliban officials to address the demands of the Shia population.
However, last year, the US State Department published a report on religious freedom in the world and said that Afghanistan under the rule of the Taliban is witnessing severe violations of religious freedom.
Referring to the forced displacement of religious minorities in Afghanistan, the US State Department said that the Taliban expelled members of the Shia communities from their homes in several provinces and divided their lands among the supporters of the group.
Human Rights Watch also stated ISIS has repeatedly attacked Hazaras who are mainly followers of the Shia sect of Islam and other religious minorities in their mosques, schools, and workplaces, but the Taliban has not taken measures to protect them.
