Taliban Do Not Represent Afghan People, Says Ex-Afghan Interior Minister

Civil servants told Afghanistan International that officers from the Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice, acting on orders from the department’s head in Khost, have been visiting government offices to inspect employees’ appearance, particularly their beards.

According to the employees, staff in several offices have faced insults, threats and humiliation solely because their beards are considered too short, despite being civilian workers with no political or criminal background.

They said anyone whose beard does not meet the preferences of the local morality police chief or who lacks a personal relationship with him comes under pressure and risks dismissal.

A staff member at the Khost Telecommunications Directorate said officials had been told their beards must be at least a fist-length and that hair below the ears must not be trimmed.

Sources said the practice is under way in several departments, including Khost Municipality, the Telecommunications Directorate and the Department of Labour and Social Affairs.

The complaints come as Taliban morality police in Kandahar have reportedly detained about 15 young men over the past two days for having short or shaved beards, removing them from restaurants.

In a statement issued on Monday, December 22, the Taliban Supreme Court said the Kabul Primary Court for the Prevention of Narcotics punished the individuals for selling and trafficking tablet K, methamphetamine, cannabis and alcoholic beverages.

According to figures compiled by Afghanistan International, the Taliban have flogged at least 106 people, including 13 women, across Afghanistan over the past 10 days.

The Taliban describe corporal punishment imposed by courts under their control as the enforcement of Islamic sharia. Despite repeated criticism from international organisations over public floggings and the torture of detainees, the group has continued to carry out such punishments, often in public.

A recent report by the United Nations said the Taliban flogged at least 215 people, 44 women and 171 men, in several provinces between August 1 and October 31.

Following a two-day meeting in Islamabad, the Tehreek Tahaffuz-e-Ain Pakistan coalition said in a statement that it supports reopening border crossings between Afghanistan and Pakistan and resuming bilateral trade.

The opposition also urged the government to take immediate steps to improve security in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, which has seen a rise in violence in recent months.

The statement criticised actions by Pakistani authorities against opposition groups, including a crackdown on Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf led by Imran Khan. It alleged the party has faced unlawful measures such as fabricated cases and humiliating treatment.

Opposition leaders called for the release of all political prisoners, including Imran Khan and his wife.

The meeting of opposition parties, held on Saturday and Sunday under the banner of the Tehreek Tahaffuz-e-Ain Pakistan coalition, concluded with a 12-point declaration outlining their political and security demands.

Munir described the TTP as a direct challenge to the Pakistani state and said restoring the writ of the government is the exclusive responsibility of the state. He stressed that the declaration of jihad lies solely with the government, not with individuals or armed groups.

He also renewed a warning to the Afghan Taliban, saying they must choose between Pakistan and the TTP.

Islamabad has repeatedly urged the Taliban to prevent militants from using Afghan territory to carry out attacks inside Pakistan. While the Taliban deny the presence of Pakistani Taliban fighters on Afghan soil, international reports have documented that the group operates from within Afghanistan.

Earlier, Afghanistan International reported, citing documents it obtained, that a number of Afghan Taliban fighters had joined a faction of the Pakistani Taliban led by Hafiz Gul Bahadur in North Waziristan.

In addition, findings published by Afghanistan International’s investigative unit in November said most senior TTP commanders including Noor Wali Mehsud, Hafiz Gul Bahadur, Azmatullah Mehsud, Akhtar Mohammad Khalil and Mufti Sadiq Noor Dawar frequently travel between Kabul, the provinces of Kunar, Khost, Paktia and Paktika, and Pakistan’s tribal areas.

Munir also addressed military preparedness, saying Pakistan faces multidimensional threats along both its eastern and western borders, requiring the modernisation of defensive capabilities. He said the Pakistan Army and law enforcement agencies are fully prepared to counter both conventional and unconventional threats.

The army chief made the remarks at a National Ulema Conference in Islamabad on December 10. Details of the speech were published by Pakistani media on Sunday, December 21.

The agency said it has provided nutritional assistance to thousands of malnourished women and children across the country in cooperation with partner organisations.

In a post on X on Sunday, the World Food Programme thanked donors for their support, saying continued assistance is vital to ensuring a healthy future for Afghan mothers and children.

The WFP has previously warned that Afghanistan ranks fourth globally for acute child malnutrition. It estimates that about five million mothers and children are currently affected, with the crisis continuing to worsen.

The agency has also cautioned that more than 17 million Afghans face severe food insecurity as winter approaches, a situation closely linked to rising levels of acute malnutrition.

According to WFP data, hunger has increased compared with last year, with an additional three million Afghans now at risk of acute hunger.

The malnutrition crisis has been compounded by a sharp drop in funding, with the agency’s deputy director saying WFP support has fallen by about 80 percent this year.