Following a report by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) about Afghanistan’s Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, in which the UN says it documented:
-443 alleged arbitrary arrests and detentions by ministry personnel.
-97 incidents of alleged ill-treatment involving Afghan men and women.
-Arrests linked to hijab requirements, beard trimming, hairstyles, music, and attendance at congregational prayers.
The Afghan government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid Issued the following statement:
“Regarding the latest report by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), we call on the office, as an impartial international organization, to base its assessments on accurate information and objective realities.
The report describes the arrests of certain individuals who violated the rules by the Islamic Emirate’s Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice and other official institutions as “arbitrary,” whereas these arrests were carried out in accordance with the applicable laws and regulations of the relevant institutions, with the aim of preventing acts contrary to Islamic law and reforming individuals, not arbitrarily. Such lawful arrests of offenders are carried out by governments throughout the world.
We have a question for UNAMA: Why has it not reflected in its report the efforts and progress made by various institutions of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan in providing public assistance, resettling returning refugees, preventing security threats, achieving political progress, and implementing major economic programs?
Instead of working as an impartial institution to bring Afghanistan and the international community closer together and eliminate misunderstandings between them, UNAMA is, on the contrary, engaged in propaganda against the government inside Afghanistan as a biased organization and is attempting to present a negative image of Afghanistan to the world. This does not demonstrate impartiality on its part.”
