Taliban forces residents of Mazar-i-Sharif to buy and hang their flag — source

Residents of Mazar-i-Sharif are being forced to buy and hang Taliban flags — source

According to local sources in Mazar-i-Sharif, the capital of Afghanistan's Balkh province, the Taliban movement is pressuring residents to buy its white flag.

As reported to Hashti Subh Daily on August 13, the Taliban has issued a warning to people. According to it, citizens are obliged to buy the movement's flag and hang it in their shops and homes.

One of the sources said that a citizen who said he did not have money to buy the flag was beaten by Taliban members. It was also added that the Taliban have demanded that people paint trees and some areas around their homes white.

Earlier, sources in Kandahar and Helmand provinces also confirmed that the Taliban had ordered people to put up the movement's white flag on shops and workplaces by August 15. According to the sources, if this demand was not met, people were threatened with the closure of their shops and workplaces.

This situation is happening at a time when the majority of the population in Afghanistan is struggling with poverty, unemployment and economic hardship and is unable to meet their basic needs. Currently, opposition forces in the country are actively operating against the Taliban. There are reports that the movement has raided the homes of former government forces and threatened them with death.