Iranian Delegation Visits Kabul For Labour Talks, Says Taliban

The document warns that teachers who fail to comply with an order issued by the Taliban’s leader to grow beards will be dismissed from their jobs.

The pledge, obtained on Saturday, instructs staff of the provincial Directorate of Education, as well as teachers and students, to follow “Islamic principles and the Prophet’s conduct” in line with a decree by Hibatullah Akhundzada.

It states that any teacher or student who disobeys Akhundzada’s orders and rulings will be marked absent until they comply with the directive.

Several teachers told Afghanistan International that the forced signing of the pledges has begun at Abdul Wakil Ali High School in Jalalabad, the provincial capital.

According to the teachers, the Taliban’s Ministry of Education has formed a special committee to enforce the order. They said teachers were warned that failure to adhere to the “tradition” of growing beards would lead to dismissal and that they would have no right to lodge complaints.

Previously, the Taliban’s Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice declared shaving beards a sin and urged men not to shave. Its spokesperson, Saif-ul-Islam Khyber, has described growing a beard as one of the main distinctions between men and women.

Taliban morality enforcers have also warned barbers against shaving or styling beards and hair in modern fashions. In Kabul, Nangarhar, Khost and several other provinces, barbers have repeatedly been detained for shaving or styling men’s beards and hair in ways deemed unacceptable by the authorities.

Earlier, former government employees in Khost province told Afghanistan International that morality enforcers detained them for 24 hours over the style of their beards and later dismissed them from their jobs, saying their appearance was “not in accordance with tradition.”

Hamdullah Fitrat, the Taliban’s deputy spokesperson, said the operations were conducted in various parts of the country over the past calendar year. His remarks were reported by Afghanistan National Television, which is run by the Taliban.

Fitrat described 2025 as a “highly productive” year for the Taliban Ministry of Defence. He said the administration had established more than 600 security posts along Afghanistan’s borders.

According to the report, the Ministry of Defence also collected about $48 million in revenue during the year.

Fitrat said multimonth training programmes were held in 2025 for 15,302 Taliban forces as part of efforts to expand and professionalise the group’s security apparatus.

Earlier, Zabihullah Mujahid said the number of personnel in the Taliban Ministry of Defence had exceeded 181,000 in the previous year.

The figures released by the Taliban could not be independently verified.

This is while demonstrations entered a second week across the country.

Responding to protests sparked by soaring currency prices, Khamenei said the complaints raised by shopkeepers were legitimate but drew a clear distinction between protesters and rioters.

“Protest is justified, but protest is different from rioting,” he said. “We will talk to protesters, but talking to rioters is of no use.” He added that “rioters must be put in their place”.

Khamenei described protests by shopkeepers over the sharp rise in the price of the US dollar as “justified”, but claimed it was unacceptable for what he called “threatened individuals and enemy mercenaries” to stand behind demonstrators and chant slogans against Islam, Iran and the Islamic Republic.

The supreme leader blamed the surge in the dollar’s value on “the enemy” and called on Iran’s president to address the issue.

Last week, a record-breaking fall in the national currency triggered a fresh wave of protests across Iran. On Sunday, the US dollar briefly traded above 144,000 tomans, prompting shopkeepers and traders to take to the streets in several cities.

Over the past seven days, the demonstrations spread nationwide and were met with a crackdown by Iran’s security forces.

Speaking on Saturday, January 3, Khamenei said Iran would not back down under pressure. “We will not retreat in the face of the enemy,” he said. “By relying on God and with confidence in the support of the people, we will bring the enemy to its knees.”

This comes after growing criticism of the group’s internal divisions and governance practices.

In a statement released on Saturday, the Taliban’s Directorate for the Oversight and Implementation of Decrees said Akhundzada had issued 14 new decrees. According to the statement, two of the decrees specifically stress the need to strengthen mutual trust within the Taliban, while another instructs members not to interfere in one another’s affairs.

In one directive, Akhundzada said the Taliban are facing a “major test” and urged his forces to avoid what he described as arrogance, pride, self-admiration, oppression and betrayal.

The decrees come as criticism has mounted over what rights groups and observers describe as ethnic and factional practices within the Taliban. Akhundzada again instructed his followers to “strictly avoid ethnic, regional, linguistic and factional discrimination” and warned against actions that could sow distrust within the group’s ranks.

Since returning to power in 2021, the Taliban have filled many senior government posts with loyalists and close associates, while sidelining professional and technical staff from state institutions. The United Nations has repeatedly criticised what it describes as the Taliban’s ethnically driven approach to governance.

Akhundzada also warned Taliban officials against actions that could undermine internal cohesion, as reports have emerged in recent months of disputes and occasional clashes among Taliban members.

In other parts of the decrees, Akhundzada reiterated the importance of enforcing the Taliban’s policy of promoting virtue and preventing vice and urged officials not to misuse or betray public funds.

The directives were issued as Akhundzada himself faces accusations of ethnic and linguistic bias. In a report published recently, the UN secretary-general said the Taliban leader has continued to appoint and reshuffle loyalists, noting that those selected are “all men and predominantly Pashtun”.

Zabihullah Mujahid, the Taliban’s chief spokesperson, said the group values its relations with India and wants to expand cooperation, particularly in healthcare and commerce.

Mujahid thanked India for its humanitarian assistance, including the supply of vaccines, medicines and food aid, and said Afghanistan’s needs require sustained dialogue and stronger bilateral relations.

Speaking to Radio Hurriyat, a Taliban-affiliated outlet, Mujahid said significant progress had been made in relations with New Delhi and that the trend was expected to continue.

His comments followed recent remarks by India’s foreign minister, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, who highlighted centuries-old ties between the two countries and described India’s policy towards Afghanistan as people-centric and community-focused.

Relations between the Taliban and India have grown closer amid rising tensions between the Taliban administration and Pakistan. In recent months, the Taliban’s foreign minister, as well as the ministers of commerce and industry and public health, have visited New Delhi.

Working with India and Iran, the Taliban are also seeking alternative trade routes to reduce dependence on Pakistani ports and goods. During visits to New Delhi and Tehran, Taliban officials signed cooperation agreements with authorities in both countries.

India has meanwhile upgraded its diplomatic mission in Kabul to embassy level and expanded its humanitarian and development assistance to Afghanistan.

The growing engagement between India and the Taliban has raised concerns in Pakistan. Islamabad has accused the Taliban and India of supporting Baloch separatist groups and the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, allegations the Taliban have denied. Mujahid has repeatedly said Pakistan should not expect to influence or control the Taliban’s domestic or foreign policy.