The Taliban has ordered foreign NGOs and charities to suspend their educational programmes in Afghanistan.
Sources from UNICEF, Save the Children and ACTED have confirmed to KabulNow that they have been ordered to suspend operations in Sar-e-Pol and Faryab provinces.
A Taliban official said UNICEF is exempt from the ban, but didn’t elaborate on the reasonings behind the decision.
An audio recording, apparently of a Taliban official, he is heard saying foreign NGOs have been banned from providing their services. The affected NGOs, he says, have been given time to wound up their operations.
This comes days after the Taliban’s supreme leader, Mullah Hibatullah Akhudzada, meeting the group’s heads of provincial education departments.
Since returning to power in August 2021, the Taliban has imposed severe restrictions on schools, universities and other institutions, including banning girls from secondary schools and higher education, as well as access to some subjects.
Despite international outcries and condemnations, the group has refused to reverse or ease off the restrictions.
