Afghan National Resistance Council Condemns Taliban’s New Penal Code as Medieval and Discriminatory
The National Resistance Council for the Salvation of Afghanistan has strongly condemned the approval of the Taliban administration’s “Penal Code” and stated that this measure will push Afghanistan into a situation worse than the Middle Ages. In a statement released today, Friday, January 22, the council described this penal code as a continuation of the Taliban’s inhumane and un-Islamic behavior towards the country’s residents and emphasized that such decisions deepen the social and legal suffering of the Afghan people. According to the National Resistance Council, the Taliban administration practices overt religious discrimination by recognizing only followers of one sect as Muslims and labeling followers of other sects as innovators, an approach that the council believes contradicts the teachings of Islam and divides Afghan society in a primitive and hierarchical manner. The statement further asserted that with these policies, the Taliban have effectively revived concepts such as slavery, relegated women to subordinate and dependent positions, and imposed a range of humiliating and inhumane punishments on the population. The National Resistance Council warned that pressure on followers of other sects, the expansion of an atmosphere of fear, discrimination, and exclusion, is leading the country towards division, instability, and increased violence, posing a serious threat to peaceful coexistence in Afghanistan. The council added that this approach not only contradicts Islamic teachings but also extensively violates fundamental human rights, freedom of belief, and human dignity, and from their perspective, is completely unacceptable. In conclusion, the National Resistance Council described this measure by the Taliban administration as an organized effort to eliminate women, children, and other vulnerable groups, stressing that these policies not only harm society but also tarnish the image of Islam globally and will confront Afghanistan’s future with a deeper crisis.
