Taliban put alleged kidnappers’ bodies on display

Earlier this month the bodies of four alleged kidnappers were dumped in a central square in Mazar-i-Sharif. They were reported to have been killed in a shoot-out with the Taliban after abducting several children. The events follow recent reports of harsh crackdowns by the Taliban across Afghanistan that have come since they seized power of the nation in August. While the militant group have said that their rule would be milder than it was during their previous time in government, there have been numerous reports since then that have pointed to severe violence inflicted on Afghans by the Taliban. These include the The public display of the alleged kidnappers’ bodies in Herat is further evidence of the Taliban’s increasingly hardline governance and the news comes in the same week that the future of democracy — and the rights of women and girls — under the Taliban has served as a key talking point among world leaders at the United Nations General Assembly in New York. The Taliban requested representation at the General Assembly, as they instructed the UN on Monday to replace Ghulam Isaczai — an appointee of Afghanistan’s former democratic government — with their own representative. A diplomatic battle has since ensued over who represents the country at the UN.Meanwhile, the Taliban have also recently denied claims that Afghan girls and women will be banned from secondary education — but the militant group have not yet said when they will be allowed to return to school, despite calling on boys to resume education.