Executions will return in Afghanistan, say Taliban

AMPUTATIONS and executions will return to Afghanistan as they are ‘necessary for security’, the Taliban has said.

Mullah Nooruddin Turabi, who was in charge of justice when the fanatics last ruled, also claimed it was wrong for outsiders to tell them what their laws should be.

Now the prisons minister, he said punishments were needed as a deterrent – but they may not be carried out in public as they were when the Taliban was last in power.

The punishments include hand amputations for thieves, while those found guilty of highway robbery might lose a hand and a foot. Turabi – who lost an eye and a leg fighting the invading Russians in the 1980s – said: ‘Cutting off of hands is very necessary for security.’

He added: ‘No one will tell us what our laws should be. We will follow Islam and we will make our laws on the Koran.’

He also revealed that the government will not be as hardline as last time, when it banned music and sports. He also said the Taliban would allow TV and mobile phones, adding that the group views media as a powerful tool to reach millions.