"The primary goal is to serve Islam. As a result, the Ministry of Vice and Virtue is required," said Mohammad Yousuf, Afghanistan's central zone commander.
The Taliban has reinstated Afghanistan's 'Ministry of Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice,' which was dissolved during the country's US-led military occupation. Its reappearance caused a collective chill among Afghans, who knew it for its strict interpretation of Islamic law. "The primary goal is to serve Islam. As a result, the Ministry of Vice and Virtue is required," said Mohammad Yousuf, Afghanistan's central zone commander.
He went on to say that they would punish in accordance with Islamic norms, and that whatever Islam teaches them, they will follow. He stated, as an example, that murdering someone has distinct rules. "If you kill the individual on purpose, you will be killed in return. If the offence was not deliberate, another punishment, such as a monetary fine, may be imposed. If a theft occurs, the hand will be severed. If there is illicit intercourse, those who engage in it shall be stoned," he added. He went on to say that all they want is a peaceful country with Islamic norms and regulations.
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Women were compelled to wear burqas and not walk outdoors without a male guardian under the Taliban's final reign, which lasted from 1996 to 2001. Prayer times were imposed harshly, and males were forced to grow beards. Moral police were stationed in every street to punish violators with harsh penalties like whipping, amputations, and public executions. Signs of similar occurrences have begun to reappear on Kabul's streets.
Recently, the Taliban drove away Afghan women demonstrating against Afghanistan's all-male interim administration on Wednesday in Kabul. According to media accounts, the Taliban used whips and clubs on protestors in the latest assault on dissent in Afghanistan.
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