Taliban’s Morality Police Expel Hazara Vendors, Hand over Marketplace to Pashtuns in Jaghori District

According to residents of Jaghori district in Ghazni province, the Taliban’s morality police have expelled at least 50 Hazara street vendors from the Sang-e-Masha bazaar and handed it over to Pashtuns from neighboring districts, Hast e Subh Daily reported yesterday.

The morality police are accused of forcefully evicting the Hazara vendors despite the land being privately owned, the news agency added.

It cited locals saying this is part of the Taliban’s broader interference in personal and collective livelihoods, as well as government affairs, in the district.

The morality police have reportedly threatened vendors and even the mayor when they tried to intervene, the source mentioned.

It also noted that locals claim Mawlawi Muzzamil, the Taliban’s morality police official in the Jaghori district, has taken bribes for this acts, saying “With power in his hands, he has exploited his authority, pocketed 500,000 Afghanis from the Pashtuns, and displaced us from our rightful place.”

The incident has sparked outrage among the Hazara community in Jaghori, who are now facing an uncertain future after losing their livelihoods. The Taliban authorities have not issued any response regarding this alleged coercion and property seizure.