Taliban Revokes Licenses of 1,600 Organizations Including Karzai Foundation
The Ministry of Justice under the Taliban administration announced on Tuesday via a list published on its official website that the operating licenses of approximately 1,600 social, civil, scientific, religious, and cultural organizations across the country have been revoked. Among these organizations is the Hamid Karzai Foundation, which had previously been officially active in Kabul.
According to the published information, the Nasir Khusraw Balkhi Foundation led by the family of Syed Mansoor Naderi, several religious institutions affiliated with the Shia community, the Businesswomen’s Social Association, the Islah Society, and the Council of the Teachers’ Association of Afghanistan are among the entities whose licenses have been canceled.
The Taliban administration has not yet provided a clear explanation for this broad decision; their silence has increased concerns regarding the future of civil, religious, and educational activities in the country. Social activists have repeatedly warned that such actions without transparency severely restrict the operational environment of independent organizations.
This decision comes amid a significant rise in restrictions on civil and social organizations’ activities in Afghanistan over recent years, with many institutions either closing down or being forced to reduce their scope of work.
The Hamid Karzai Charity Foundation was established in Kabul in 2015. Hamid Karzai, the head of the foundation, said at the outset that the core mission was to provide educational opportunities for youth throughout Afghanistan, and that these aids were given directly, without intermediaries, and free from political motives.
He also emphasized that the foundation is a non-political organization working in coordination with the Ministry of Higher Education and the Ministry of Education to promote education and learning in the country. These activities have now been suspended due to the Taliban administration’s recent decision.
