Taliban Governor’s Office in Khost Apologises Over Performance About Juma Khan Fatah
The Taliban governor’s office in Khost has apologised after criticism over a performance about Juma Khan Fatah, saying the event was held without coordination. However, videos circulated from the performance show several local Taliban officials watching it, a detail that differs from the governor’s spokesman’s account that the programme was not organised in coordination with the school administration.
Mastaghfir Gurbaz, the Taliban governor’s spokesman in Khost, posted a video on X in which one of the officials and several students from a religious school say the performance was held without the school administration’s coordination. Gurbaz said the programme was staged a few days ago by some students in the presence of teachers and members of the public, and that parts of it sparked reaction after being shared on social media.
According to the governor’s spokesman, Taliban officials reviewed the performance and concluded it was an individual act by a few students. The organisers were punished and warned against repeating similar programmes. The Taliban governor’s office also apologised to those whose feelings, it said, were hurt.
In the latest video, the purpose of the performance is described as targeting those whom the Taliban consider to have committed “rebellion” against the group. Earlier, some Taliban supporters staged a performance about Juma Khan Fatah in Khost, attended by officials of the group, which some social media users described as insulting.
Tensions between Juma Khan Fatah and the Taliban intensified in Jowza and led to an armed clash in Nasi, Badakhshan, in Asad. During the fighting, Fatah called on his men to begin war against the Taliban and, after a few days, surrendered in late Asad to Fasihuddin Fitrat, the Taliban’s chief of army staff. He was then transferred to Kabul, and a Taliban spokesman said he will be tried.
