TALUQAN (SW) – The Taliban’s shadow district education chief in Takhar province has raped at least 21 students at a religious school in the Ashkamish district.
According to the local officials, the incident took place in an area under the control of the Taliban. Shamsullah (a pseudonym), resident of Nauabad village in the district, told Salam Watandar that the Taliban’s influential local commander, Syed Abdul Karim, rapped these students at the Ibrahim Khalilullah religious school after leaving a party. A 14-year-old close relative of Shamsullah is said to be among the victims. He said the Taliban commander raped the students after consuming stimulant drugs.
Another resident of the district told SW that Syed Abdul Karim is the Taliban's shadow chief of education for Takhar. According to the local resident, the Taliban arrested Karim and took him to Kolabi village of the district.
Local officials said the locals demanded the Taliban to publicly execute Karim, but the insurgents have sought three-day time to look into the matter.
A security source confirmed that the accused remains in the custody of the Taliban. When contacted, Takhar police chief, Syed Merajuddin Sadat, also confirmed that the incident happened 15 days ago.
In a separate incident, a few days after the security forces seized control of Khwa Ghar district, local authorities reported that the Taliban had raped a student girl in the area. However, Zabihullah Mujahed, the Taliban spokesman, said the allegations were untrue. Taliban spokesman said the government has failed to fight the Taliban in Takhar province, and wants to cover it with such allegations.
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