Shia Rights Watch condemns Taliban’s violations of Afghan Shia rights

Shia Rights Watch has condemned Taliban’s violation of the rights of the Afghan Shia and warned of an exclusionary government.

The international organization condemned the provocative and arbitrary practices of the Taliban movement against Shia Muslims in Afghanistan, stressing that the movement’s adoption of this arbitrary approach reveals once again its ugly sectarian face.

The organization said in a statement received by Shia Waves Agency: “It is worried over reports received from Afghanistan stating that members of the Taliban group in the predominantly Shia province of Daykundi set up checkpoints the day before yesterday, Friday, to force the people of that region to break their fast and adhere to Eid al-Fitr, according to statements by authorities in the areas.

The statement continued, “Eyewitnesses in the area reported that Taliban forces patrolling the area forced dozens of Shia fasting people to drink water and beat and cursed many who refused to obey their orders. They also gathered Shia clerics and forced them to break their fast, while forcing others in other provinces to perform Eid prayers while fasting.

The organization stressed that “the Taliban’s persistence on violating human rights and persecuting religious and ethnic minorities and women, and pursuing a unilateral and racist policy against the Afghan people, would increase the state of tension and put the country on the brink of a civil war that could destroy everything.”

The organization called on the international community, especially neighboring countries, “to put pressure on the Taliban movement to return to the right path and implement the terms of the Doha agreement.”

Shia Rights Watch also warned of any international step “towards recognizing the de facto authorities in Afghanistan before ensuring the formation of an inclusive national unity government that represents all Afghans, otherwise that country will turn into a powder keg that may explode; endangering regional and world security and stability.”