Deputy Intelligence Minister: People’s flight from Afghanistan is the result of harmful traditions.
Taj Mir Javad, the Taliban’s deputy intelligence chief, claimed at a meeting in Khost province that the flight of people from Afghanistan was the result of “unpleasant customs and harmful traditions.”
He urged people not to be “deceived by propaganda” and to support the Taliban.
The remarks came at a rally held to implement a decree from Taliban leader Hebatullah Akhundzada to combat “unpleasant customs.”
The Taliban official’s comments come as more than eight million people have fled Afghanistan since the group took control of the country.
The migrants mainly include political activists, former officials, security forces, women, human rights activists and other groups who have been forced to leave for fear of Taliban retaliation or economic and social pressures.
In addition to insecurity and political repression, many people have migrated because of poverty, unemployment and food crises.
The closure of schools and universities to girls and the ban on women’s work, along with the implementation of strict laws enjoining good and forbidding evil, are also said to be the main factors in the intensification of mass migration in recent years.
