Local sources say that several money changers, secretaries, and employees of the Kandahar money exchange market who had been arrested on charges of shaving their beards and cutting their hair are still in prison.
Sources told the Hasht-e Subh Daily on Tuesday, September 22, that Morality Police, accompanied by Taliban fighters, arrested 26 money changers, secretaries and employees of the Kandahar money exchange market last Wednesday, September 17.
According to the sources, 13 of those arrested were released on the same day, and seven others were released several days later, but six remain in detention.
The sources also say that the mobile phones of those arrested were inspected, and the presence of photographs and songs on some of the phones has been cited as a reason for keeping them in detention.
Several elders and community leaders from the money exchange market have repeatedly approached the Taliban’s Directorate for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice to secure the release of the detained young men, but their requests have not been accepted.
The arrests have raised serious concerns among merchants and shopkeepers in Kandahar.
Meanwhile, sources add that increased surveillance and inspections by the Morality Police concerning people’s appearance and personal phones have subjected the people of Kandahar to further difficulties and pressure.
