Mohammad Khalid Hanafi, Taliban’s Minister of Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, announced that the ministry has more than 5,000 agents in Afghanistan.

He said that all of these officials are religious clerics.

He added that only the Taliban has a minister dedicated to the propagation of virtue and prevention of vice and other Islamic countries lack having such an agency.

The Taliban-controlled media agency, Bakhtar News Agency, on Sunday reported that Hanafi, during his trip to Baghlan urged people to cooperate with this ministry of the Taliban.

Earlier, officials of this ministry had told media personnel that their members have no right to use violence against the people.

However, contrary to their statement, Afghanistan International has published several video clips over the past several months showing the ministry’s agents using violence against the people.

Also, the ministry’s officials have been accused of violating people's privacy in many cases. House search operations without a warrant and checking people's phones are among such cases of violating people's privacy.

During his speech in Baghlan, Hanafi said that their mission is "to implement virtues and eliminate vice".