Kabul: In Afghanistan, the Taliban is quite famous for its strict orders. People have to face severe punishment if they do not follow the orders of the Taliban. Now, the Taliban has given another order that government employees will have to offer Namaaz five times a day and if they do not do so, they should be ready for punishment.

Taliban supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada said in his order on Thursday that Afghan government employees will have to attend mosques five times a day and failure to do so will result in punishment.

Taliban imposed restrictions earlier also

Since the Taliban took over in 2021, Akhundzada has imposed sweeping restrictions on the Afghan people, including excluding women and girls from education, ordering male guardians for women, and effectively banning music.

Obliged to perform namaz at specific times

The order signed by Akhundzada states that officials of the Taliban government's ministries and institutions are bound by Sharia to perform namaz at their fixed time. The order states that employees who miss namaad without any reasonable excuse should receive a warning, and if they repeat the offence then the concerned official is bound to punish them appropriately.

A Taliban government spokesman did not respond to an AFP question asking what the punishment would be. According to Islam, Muslims must strive to pray five times a day either in private or at a mosque. It was not immediately clear how the order to force employees to attend prayers during non-working hours would be enforced.