The commander of the Taliban, Haibatullah Akhundzada, has instructed Afghan courts to inflict punishments for certain offenses, including public amputations and stoning.

According to his spokesman, crimes including robbery, kidnapping, and sedition must be punished by the group’s understanding of Islamic Sharia law.

During their time in power in the 1990s, the Taliban were criticized for their murders in public.

When they retook power last year, they promised to govern with more moderation.

Since then, though, the radical Islamist party has steadily tightened down on liberties. Particularly, women’s rights have been severely curtailed.

The supreme leader of the Taliban stated that courts must punish convicts according to Sharia if the crime committed violates Islamic law.

Mullah Akhundzad met with a group of judges, according to Zabihullah Mujahid, the Taliban’s spokesman, who later tweeted that the “mandatory” order had been issued.

“Carefully review the files of thieves, kidnappers, and seditionists,” Akhundzada was cited as saying by Mujahid.

The Taliban have not specified the exact offenses and punishments, but an Afghan religious authority told that punishments under Sharia law might include amputations, public lashings, and stoning.

The decree is the most recent indication that the Taliban are adopting a stricter stance on human rights and freedoms.

Last week, they prohibited women from entering any park in Kabul, further barring them from public life. Since then, it has been clear that the ban extends to women accessing public baths and gyms in the city, although the latter attract relatively few women.

Entry to parks, baths, and gyms was already segregated by gender according to Taliban regulations. The group asserts that Islamic law was not respected.

Since Western soldiers withdrew from Afghanistan in the summer of 2021, following a 20-year conflict and in response to the Taliban’s rise, the level of violence has decreased throughout the country.

However, the gang has been accused of violating the human rights of countless individuals, including opponents, women, and journalists.

It has pledged that there will be no more ruthless persecution of women, as there was when it was in power from 1996 to 2001, but half of the population faces significant restrictions on their freedom of action.

Women are prohibited from traveling great distances without a male companion. The majority of the country’s adolescent girls have not yet returned to school, despite Taliban vows to allow them to do so.

While some women continue to work in sectors such as healthcare and education, the Taliban’s return to power prompted the majority of women to be forbidden from working.

In May, it was mandated that women wear the Islamic face veil in public. Several women who demanded their rights have been beaten.

As the international community awaits the Taliban’s fulfillment of unfulfilled pledges regarding security, governance, and human rights, billions of dollars in Afghan assets held overseas are blocked.