Protest Gathering in Badakhshan, Afghanistan
Following two days of protest gatherings in Badakhshan, Afghanistan, the Taliban government has appointed a delegation led by Fasihuddin Fitrat, the Chief of Staff of the Taliban Army, to investigate the protests.
Mr. Fitrat, in an audio message referring to the recent protests, says, ‘I tell all officials that the Islamic Emirate of the Taliban government is serious about the destruction of poppy cultivation, and it won’t be stopped by these demonstrations.’
He added that if permission is given for demonstrations, people might protest over other matters in the future as well.
He described the throwing of stones by protesters at Taliban forces’ vehicles as an insult and mentioned that a Taliban security manager was also injured. He urged Taliban officials to talk to local elders.
The Federal Assembly of Afghanistan, in a statement regarding the recent protests in Badakhshan, stated that the rightful demand of the people in these protests is to end tyranny and ethnic oppression, invasion of privacy, discriminatory and supremacist ethnic behaviors, and to take control of local management into their own hands.
