Badakhshan Residents Said “No” to the Taliban; Protest Held with a Few Clerics and Children.
Local sources in Badakhshan province say the Taliban in recent days used mosque loudspeakers and local publicity to call on people to participate in a protest; however, the call was met with widespread indifference from citizens. According to these sources, the protest for which the Taliban had prepared the ground for several days was ultimately held only with the participation of a small number of Qur’an reciters, clerics, and some relatives affiliated with the group, and ordinary people did not take part.
A resident of Badakhshan says people in recent years have clearly experienced the nature of Taliban rule and therefore have no motivation to accompany the group’s programs. According to him, the general atmosphere of society is filled with fatigue, disappointment, and dissatisfaction, and the Taliban during this period have not presented any tangible achievement to improve people’s lives. The source adds that many citizens have become exhausted by the restrictions and strict policies.
According to another source, today in some mosques people were again asked to hold protests against Pakistan; however, after the prayer ended none of the worshippers agreed to join the gathering. In the end the mosque’s imam moved toward General Nazir Mohammad Square with only a few children and teenagers with weak and faint slogans; a scene that according to local sources reflects the deep distance between the Taliban and the people in Badakhshan.
