Mullah Abdul-Islam Hanafi, the Taliban’s deputy prime minister, emphasized the equality of Afghanistan’s ethnic groups in a meeting with a number of Shiite elders and said: “Based on the policy of the Islamic Emirate, no discrimination or prejudice is acceptable.”
The meeting was held on Sunday, but the Taliban’s official Arg page did not publish a picture of it.
In this meeting, Mohammad Akbari and Sayed Hussain Alemi Balkhi, representing the Shiite community, expressed satisfaction with the Taliban’s development programs and recent economic progress.
Hanafi also emphasized the fair implementation of development projects throughout the country and added: “Afghanistan is the common home of all citizens and everyone has a stake in its reconstruction.”
This comes at a time when the Taliban have been accused by human rights organizations of systematic discrimination against ethnic and religious minorities, especially the exclusion of Shiites from the power structure.
