Sawt Falasteen - Taliban govt defends ban on protest, citing Islamic law

Demonstrations in Afghanistan have been rare since the Taliban returned to power just over five years ago, but the government last month introduced a rule holding that "all types of protests are banned".

International organisations have decried the law as "ruthless" and a move to suppress any dissent in the country.

Taliban government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told AFP during a news conference that the "law fully complies with Islamic law", adding that "protests don't exist in Islamic law".

"Protests belong to societies where there are different laws established, for example a democracy or a republic," Mujahid said.

Under the Islamic system, he said, people can approach the government with concerns rather than hold demonstrations.

Mujahid argued the ban "will also protect people from wasting time" and prevent the destruction of private property.

Human Rights Watch late last month slammed the ban as "another step in the Taliban's ruthless effort to suppress all dissent".

Amnesty International described the Taliban's broader series of changes to law enforcement as "another sweeping assault on human rights in Afghanistan", calling the protest ban "among its most egregious provisions".

While demonstrations are rare, at least two people were killed in June when security forces reportedly opened fire on a women's rights protest in the western city of Herat, a group of UN experts said.

F.AbuZaid--SF-PST