Afghanistan dispatches: Taliban justice minister sets strict criteria for eligibility to work at ministry as purge continues Dispatches
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Afghanistan dispatches: Taliban justice minister sets strict criteria for eligibility to work at ministry as purge continues

JURIST EXCLUSIVE – Law students and lawyers in Afghanistan are filing reports with JURIST on the situation there after the Taliban takeover. Here, a Staff Correspondent for JURIST in Kabul offers his observations on new hiring criteria recently announced by the new Taliban-led Ministry of Justice. For privacy and security reasons we are withholding his name and institutional affiliation. The text has been only lightly edited to respect the author’s voice.

The Taliban’s acting Minister of Justice Abdul Hakim Ishaqzai in Afghanistan has established criteria for being hired as directors within the ministry—individuals who have a preexisting relationship with the Taliban or whose views are in line with those of the Taliban, individuals who have Jihad experience and individuals who did not work for the former government.

According to local media, Ishaqzai has branded some of the employees who have worked for non-Muslims “not” Muslim and the Taliban is in the process of replacing current employees at the ministry with its own people.

Furthermore, reports about a meeting came to light where Ishaqzai purportedly pressured an audience of 50 existing directors at the ministry to ask for forgiveness for having worked with the US government and a non-Muslim system.

This is a worrisome situation—many employees have now lost their jobs while others left or are leaving due to threats from the Taliban.