Taliban ‘kills woman for not wearing burqa’ despite women’s rights vow
Taliban fighters allegedly shot a woman dead for going out in public without a burqa – days before pledging to honour women’s rights.
A harrowing picture shows a victim lying in a pool of blood as horrified loved ones surround her.
The footage, widely posted on social media, is said to have been taken as the Taliban captured the northern town of Taloqan in Takhar province last week.
The militant group vowed to take a more moderate stance in it’s first press conference yesterday.
But other heartbreaking reports suggest life under the Taliban is just as brutal as during their last reign of terror 20 years ago.
At least three people, including a journalist, are dead and dozens more injured after fighters opened fire into a crowd protesting against their rule, local media has reported.
The demonstrators had attempted to remove a white Taliban flag and replace it with the Afghanistan flag.
Children as young as 12 are believed to have been targeted to become sex slaves in previously conquered parts of the country.
Meanwhile, political opponents are believed to be being dragged from their homes at gunpoint.
A video shared earlier today appeared to show an alleged car thief covered in tar and strapped to the back of a truck.
A former British diplomat told Metro.co.uk today that a Taliban chief linked to Osama bin Laden poses ‘heightened threat’ to the West.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid assured women yesterday they would keep the rights gained in the past two decades – but said this would be ‘within the limits of Islam’.
He said: ‘We are going to allow women to work and study, within frameworks of course.
‘Women are going to be very active in society but within the frameworks of Islam.’
He added: ‘We recognise the rights of the women that Islam gave them. Women can work, they can go to the school, they can work in schools, they can work in hospitals.
‘We assure the world there will be no exorcist against the women and everything will be done under Islamic laws.’
Mr Mujahid promised the Taliban would ‘hold no grudges’ and didn’t want war.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.