Taliban Minister Defends Panel Code, Says No One Can Block Rule
A Taliban minister said the group’s administration would implement its policies without obstruction and that no one could prevent it from doing so.
Neda Mohammad Nadeem, the Taliban’s minister of higher education, made the remarks while addressing a graduation ceremony for students at a religious school in Paktia province. He said all laws and rulings issued by the Taliban administration are “religious and Islamic”.
His comments come amid widespread reactions to the Taliban’s new penal code.
Critics say the code is among the group’s latest efforts to institutionalise its preferred judicial system, which they warn could expand discrimination, repression and human rights violations in Afghanistan.
Nadeem, however, said the code is based on “Islamic law and Quranic rulings”. He added that anyone who questions the code could ask a mosque imam whether the law is rooted in Hanafi jurisprudence and the Quran.
Under the penal code, the Taliban describe their opponents as “rebels” and provide for the death penalty in such cases. The code also includes references to “slaves” in several provisions, which critics say amounts to recognition of slavery under Taliban rule. Articles 4 and 15 of the code address issues related to slavery and associated rights.
