Taliban terrorists shoot 21-year-old Afghan girl dead for not wearing veil: Report | World News

The Taliban terrorists shot a young girl dead for not wearing a veil, Afghanistan Times reported on Wednesday quoting an official as the Islamist fundamentalist group is trying to reimpose repressive laws in the war-torn region. The terrorists dragged Nazaneen, 21, out of a car while she was on her way to Balkh district centre, according to the report.

The Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid, however, has denied the claims.

The group has intensified its offensive against Afghan security forces and civilians over the last few weeks as foreign troops are completing the withdrawal. The Taliban has insisted on a “genuine Islamic system”, saying it is the only way to ensure women’s rights are in line with cultural tradition and religious rules.

Under the Taliban’s harsh version of Islamic law, girls were banned from school and women accused of crimes such as adultery were stoned to death in stadiums. With the group now reportedly controlling 223 districts, they have reimposed repressive laws that defined their rule from 1996-2001 before they were ousted by a US-led invasion.

Also Read | Women can’t leave home alone, men have to grow beard: Taliban rules in captured Afghan districts

Reports suggest that Islamic fundamentalists are forcing women to cover themselves from head to toe and not allowing them to leave home without a male companion. In some parts captured by the Taliban, they have banned shops from selling goods to women not accompanied by a male relative. People breaking the rules face punishment including public beatings.

“They urged women in a statement to not leave without a relative (Moharam) and also urged men to have beards,” Merajuddin Sharifi, a civil society activist, was quoted as saying by Ariana News last month.

Meanwhile, Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) are reported to have pushed back the Taliban fighters in some areas in the last 24 hours. The Afghan defence ministry on Thursday said that the security forces killed at least 303 Taliban terrorists and wounded another 125 in multiple operations carried out in Nangarhar, Laghman, Ghazni, Paktika, Kandahar, Zabul, Herat, Jowzjan, Samangan, Faryab, Sar-e Pol, Helmand, Nimruz, Kunduz, Baghlan and Kapisa provinces.

(With inputs from agencies)