Increased Pressure on Local Employees in Panjshir by the Taliban
Several local sources and an internal source from the Taliban’s command in Panjshir have confirmed to IntelMedium that the Taliban has imposed strict regulations on local employees within this institution.
These restrictions include corporal punishments, salary cuts, the imposition of Pashto language, and the dismissal of local employees from their positions. These policies are being enforced by Mawlawi Badr, the Taliban commander in Panjshir.
Sources have confirmed that all employees in the command are required to attend the morning prayer congregation, and those who fail to attend are punished with 70 lashes. Furthermore, their salaries are arbitrarily deducted.
An internal source from the Panjshir command, who asked not to be named for security reasons, told IntelMedium:
“The Taliban does not allow people to question these orders. Those who are absent are whipped and lose part of their salary.”
Moreover, after the morning prayer, the command officials have made Quran interpretation sessions mandatory, and any employee who does not attend these sessions is not allowed to attend their duties for the day, and their salary is also cut.
Visible Restrictions and Physical Punishments
According to reports from local sources, having a long beard has been made mandatory for all employees in the command. Those with short beards are whipped 69 times and are not allowed to return to work until their beard reaches the required length by the Taliban’s standards.
One former employee of the command, who was dismissed due to these restrictions, told IntelMedium:
“They asked us to grow our beards long, and if it’s short, we are punished. Those who don’t accept the Taliban’s rules are simply dismissed.”
Imposition of Pashto Language and Dismissal of Local Workers
Several internal sources have confirmed that all employees in the command are being forced to learn the Pashto language. Those who cannot speak Pashto are dismissed from their positions and replaced by Taliban affiliates.
An internal source in the command, who witnessed these dismissals firsthand, told IntelMedium:
“The Taliban dismisses employees who do not know Pashto. No deadline is given for learning it, the only instruction is that you must know Pashto, otherwise you will be dismissed.”
Taliban’s Administrative Structure and the Replacement of Local Workers
Local sources say that the Taliban has been dismissing local employees from the departments and replacing them with trusted individuals.
Another local source, who asked not to be named, told IntelMedium:
“All Taliban departments have become mono-ethnic. Local employees are being replaced one by one.”
These changes and the restrictions imposed on local employees are being executed under the direct supervision of Mawlawi Badr, the Taliban commander in Panjshir.
Taliban Policies Across Afghanistan
The policies in Panjshir are part of a broader pattern across Afghanistan. International human rights organizations have confirmed that the Taliban has imposed severe restrictions on education, employment, and individual freedoms over the past three years, with the most significant impact on women and ethnic minorities.
According to a report from Human Rights Watch, the Taliban has banned girls from accessing higher education beyond the sixth grade and has deprived women of employment in many jobs. The group has also restricted women’s travel without a mahram and put pressure on the media.
Independent reports show that in many regions, including Panjshir, Takhar, Badakhshan, and Balkh, the Taliban has dismissed local people and replaced them with their own affiliates.