The chief spokesman for the Taliban said that Afghanistan’s supreme leader had ordered judges to fully implement aspects of Islamic law, such as public executions, stonings, floggings and amputation of limbs for thieves.
Zabihullah Mujahid tweeted on Sunday that Haybatullah Ahundzada’s “mandatory” order came after the attack. secret leader met with a group of judges.
Akhundzada, who has not been filmed or photographed in public since then of the Taliban returned to power in August last year, ruled by decree from Kandahar, the birthplace and spiritual heart of the movement.
The Taliban promised a softer version of the hard rule that characterized their first period in power from 1996-2001, but gradually restricted rights and freedoms.
According to Ahundzada, Mujahid said, “Carefully examine the files of thieves, kidnappers and mischief-makers.” Files with all Sharia [Islamic law] If the conditions of had and qisas are fulfilled, you are obliged to implement it. This is the decree of the Shari’ah and my command is obligatory.”
Mujahideen was unavailable on Monday to expand on his tweet.
Hudud refers to crimes for which certain types of punishment are mandatory under Islamic law, while qisas translates as “reprisal in kind” – de facto eye for eye.
Border crimes include adultery – and falsely accusing someone – alcohol, theft, kidnapping and highway robbery, apostasy and rioting.
Retaliation covers murder and willful injury, among other things, but it also allows victims’ families to accept compensation rather than punishment.
Islamic scholars say that crimes leading to hudud punishment—in the case of adultery—require a very high degree of proof, including confession or witnessing by four adult male Muslims.
Since the takeover last year, social media has frequently featured videos and pictures of Taliban fighters giving flogging summaries to people accused of various crimes.
Several times the Taliban also showed the bodies of the kidnappers, whom they said had been killed in the fighting, to the public.
There have also been reports of adulteress whipping after Friday prayers in rural areas, but independent verification has been difficult to obtain.
Legal and political analyst Rahima Popalzai said the decree could be an attempt to harden a reputation the Taliban think has softened since they came to power.
“If they really start to practice hudud and qisas, they will aim to create the fear that society is slowly losing,” he said, adding that the Taliban also want to shine their Islamic identity. “As a theocratic order, the Taliban seek to strengthen their religious identity among Muslim countries.”
Especially the hard-won rights of women evaporated in the last 15 monthsand they are increasingly excluded from public life.
While most female government workers lost their jobs or were paid a penny to stay at home, women were also barred from traveling without a male relative and had to cover up with a burqa or headscarf when outside the home.
Last week, the Taliban women are prohibited from entering parks, amusement parks, gyms and baths.
During their early rule, the Taliban regularly carried out public punishments, including flogging and execution at the Ghazi stadium in Kabul.
