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Taliban official allegedly beats and dismisses manager in Daykundi province

The head of the Taliban’s agriculture, irrigation, and livestock directorate in central Daykundi province has been accused of beating and dismissing a manager of the directorate.

Local sources reported that the head of the Taliban agriculture directorate in Daykundi, Sher Ahmad Rafi beat Aziz Sharifi, the manager of the animal health department, with “stones and sticks” on Saturday.

According to sources, Aziz Sharifi received a dismissal grade from Sher Ahmad Rafi in a performance evaluation. When Sharifi objected to the grade, he was beaten by Rafi and his bodyguard.

Sharifi wrote on Facebook that he was beaten “to the point of death” by the directorate’s head, Sher Ahmad Rafi. Sharifi said that he has a master’s degree, but was dismissed because he objected to Rafi’s grading of his performance

Another source said that Sher Ahmad Rafi has a history of insulting Hazara employees of the agriculture directorate. He reportedly uses terms like “dog, evil, and sheep” to describe them. Aziz Sharifi reportedly criticized Rafi for his language.

According to the source, another employee of the agriculture directorate, Alidad Mirzaei, was also forced to resign after he criticized Sher Ahmad Rafi’s insults toward employees.

Sources added that all of the employees at the agriculture directorate are fed up with Sher Ahmad Rafi’s misbehavior. They allege that he has threatened to fire them all if they speak out about the beating of Aziz Sharifi.