Taliban’s Ban on Celebrations Sparks Controversy Over Forced Fund Collection

Following the order of the Taliban leader banning wedding ceremonies, mourning gatherings, and pilgrim celebrations, Mawlawi Mohammad Yusuf Wafa, the governor of Balkh, has instructed the district security commanders of the northern provinces to collect funds earmarked for these gatherings from their organizers and to pay them to him. Wafa emphasized that these amounts should be used to cover the expenses of jihad schools, relevant clerics, and to provide for the livelihood of foreign fighters killed or injured in the Taliban’s battles…

Ban on gatherings and order to collect funds

Based on the direct command of Mullah Hebatullah Akhundzada, the leader of the Taliban government, the holding of wedding celebration ceremonies, mourning gatherings, and ceremonies during the return of pilgrims from Umrah has been declared prohibited throughout Afghanistan. The implementation of this order has been communicated to the governors of the 34 provinces, and the Taliban’s Ministry of Interior has also emphasized its enforcement by security forces and the offices of promoting virtue and preventing vice.

Funding foreign fighters from the people’s pockets

Yusuf Wafa, the governor of Balkh, justified this action by stating that the confiscated funds must be used in a specific manner for purposes such as: expenses for jihad schools, providing for the clerics of these schools, and ensuring the livelihood of individuals from other countries who have been killed or injured in the Taliban’s wars and are currently present in Afghanistan. This Taliban action, which effectively amounts to the confiscation of private assets of the inhabitants to finance ideological institutions and support foreign fighters, has raised concerns about violations of individual rights and the coercion of people into funding the military and political expenses of the Taliban.