In the 2023 pilgrimage season, social media featured numerous images of Taliban leaders, suggesting that thousands of their members had simultaneously journeyed to Mecca. Recent discoveries from the western part of the country, as reported by Hasht-e Subh Daily, indicate that hundreds of Taliban members performed the pilgrimage without following the usual selection process and lottery. This group includes provincial governors, district chiefs, commanders, militants, and heirs of Taliban fighters killed in wars. Notably, the Taliban handpicked all the teachers exclusively from their ranks to participate in this pilgrimage process. Despite some technical questions, participants emphasize that the Taliban prioritize two criteria: “war experience” and “proficiency in the Pashto language.” Sources reveal that, beyond facilitating their journey for Hajj, the primary motivation for this action is to amass significant financial gains. Allegedly, these individuals not only received their regular salaries but also obtained $1,000 upon their return and continued to receive 1,800 Saudi Riyals during their stay in Saudi Arabia. All of this unfolded while tens of thousands of people, particularly elderly individuals nationwide, eagerly awaited their opportunity or even a lottery chance to embark on the pilgrimage.
Findings from the Hasht-e Subh Daily reveal that Taliban governors, local commanders, militants, and the heirs of those Taliban militants who were killed in wars in three western provinces of Afghanistan have undertaken this year’s obligatory Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca without going through the customary lottery selection process. According to these findings, the process of selecting Hajj teachers was also controlled by the Taliban, with individuals chosen based on their extensive history of insurgency.
Sources within the Taliban’s local administration in Badghis province report that in the Hijri year 1402 (2023), there were 2,390 applicants for Hajj in this province, and out of these, 785 individuals were allocated slots for the pilgrimage. According to insider information, within this allocation, a specific quota was set aside for Taliban militants and the heirs of those militants who had been killed during the previous government’s rule. Among them, the Kuchis or nomads also had a designated share, and even Abdul Samad Jawed, the Taliban’s governor for the province, had a reserved slot. These individuals were able to embark on the Hajj without undergoing the usual selection process and lottery.
In a list of Hajj applicants from Badghis province, it is evident that Taliban militants have been selected as Hajj participants based on their combat experience, without the need for a lottery. In this list, the Taliban militants from all districts and the central region of Badghis province have been allocated specific quotas. According to the statistics, from the Qades district, 100 individuals have been chosen as Hajj participants, including 12 Taliban militants. Additionally, from the Ab Kamari district, 110 individuals have been selected as Hajj participants, with 10 of them being Taliban militants. From the Muqur district, 68 individuals have been allocated slots for Hajj, and this includes 24 Taliban members. Furthermore, from the Bala Murghab district, 170 individuals have been chosen for Hajj, with 46 of them being Taliban militants and commanders. In addition to this, 114 individuals from the Ghormach district have undertaken the Hajj, with 40 of them being Taliban members. Finally, 100 individuals from the central region of Badghis province have gone on the pilgrimage, including 26 Taliban members.
In addition to the corruption in the selection of Hajj applicants by the Taliban, they have also handpicked the Hajj teachers in this province based on their preferences. Sources in Badghis province confirm to the Hasht-e Subh Daily that 16 individuals from this province were chosen as Hajj teachers, and their selection criteria were determined by their insurgency experience and proficiency in the Pashto language. The list of these individuals was evaluated by the Taliban and approved by the governor of the province of Badghis.
Sources in Herat province also confirm that the allocation for this province’s participation in this year’s Hajj ceremony was set at 925 individuals, out of which 210 belonged to Taliban members. According to sources, the Taliban allocated this quota to their militants without considering the customary process and lottery. Among the beneficiaries are provincial governors, district chiefs, security district chiefs of the Taliban, individuals who held various positions within the group, and some heirs of Taliban militants killed in battles against the previous government.
Sources in Farah province also inform the Hasht-e Subh Daily that a significant number of Taliban commanders and militants from this province have gone for Hajj as part of the Farah province quota. Although sources indicate that approximately one thousand slots were allocated for Farah province this year, flight lists received by the Hasht-e Subh Daily reveal that only 360 individuals from Farah were selected for the pilgrimage. Among them, 193 Taliban commanders and militants have undertaken the Hajj without going through the lottery process, replacing other applicants. Most of the Taliban members included in the list hail from the Farah Rud and Bakwa districts, where they played a more significant role in battles against the previous government.
Who were the Hajj teachers from Herat province?
According to a list obtained by the Hasht-e Subh Daily, approximately 25 individuals from Herat province have been selected as Hajj pilgrim teachers. This list includes former experienced Taliban militants who are currently serving as officials within their regime. Among the individuals listed are Mohammad Taib Nejat, the Taliban’s governor’s office chief of the province, Shahmir Halimi, the secretary of the provincial governor, Nisar Ahmad Khalid, the commander of the 555th Brigade, Mullah Abdul Ahad Mowahid, the religious affairs officer, Mawlawi Lal Khan Qasid, the criminal affairs officer, Mufti Abdul Hadi Barhan, the district governor of Shindand, as well as officials from the religious affairs department, education directors from Gulran, Pusht Koh, Pushtun Zarghun, and Rabat Sangi districts, the director-general of Hajj and Religious Affairs, the head of the religious guidance, intelligence scholars, development director, an official from Gulran district, and a former provincial council member. Furthermore, the list includes an orator, four religious teachers, one mosque imam, one teacher, and one professor who are affiliated with the Taliban in Herat province.
Herat province, with its new organizational structure, now comprises 19 districts, but it can be observed that the majority of Hajj teachers have been selected from the Gulran district in this province. Sources tell the Hasht-e Subh Daily that these teachers are individuals affiliated with and related to Mawlawi Noor Ahmad Islamjar. Islamjar is considered an acceptable figure by the Taliban supreme leader, Mullah Hibattullah Akhundzada, as the governor for Herat province. The 25-member list from the districts of this province is as follows: eight individuals are from Gulran, two from Gozareh, two from Pushtun Zarghun, two from Rabat Sangi, one from Shindand, one from Kishk-e Kohna, one from Kohsan, one from Adraskan, one from Chisht-e Sharif, one from Zinda Jan, one from Karukh, one from Injil, and three from the city center, all selected by the Taliban as Hajj teachers.
Among those selected as Hajj teachers from Herat province, one of them has a long history in the ranks of the Taliban and is considered one of the senior members of this group. He is Nisar Ahmad Khalid, the commander of the 555th National Brigade in Herat province. Khalid hails from the Gulran district in Herat province and is one of the most prominent local commanders of the Taliban in districts such as Kushk, Rabat Sangi, Kohsan, Kushk-e Kohna, and Gulran. During the previous government, he launched multiple operations against security forces in these districts. He also served as the military governor of the Taliban in Gulran district. With the fall of the province and the Taliban’s control over the province, Nisar Ahmad Khalid was appointed as the security commander of the Taliban in Herat province, serving in this capacity for about a year. He was then reassigned as the commander of the 555th National Brigade in the province and has held this position to date. According to sources, his history of insurgency within the local Taliban ranks and his Pashtun ethnic ties contributed to his selection as a Hajj teacher from Herat’s quota.
What were the criteria for selecting Hajj teachers?
Hasht-e Subh Daily has spoken with two religious scholars from the provinces of Badghis and Herat who participated in the examination for selecting Hajj teachers in these provinces. They say that the Taliban’s examination was symbolic, as the criteria for this group were the extent of their involvement in insurgency and their proficiency in the Pashto language. One religious scholar from Herat, who has years of teaching experience in prominent religious schools in the province, stated that after the Taliban took over, and we believed that their selection process would be based on merit, I participated in the examination.
He added, “I taught for at least 15 years in one of the major religious schools in Herat province, and I was also a preacher. We thought that the process was transparent and based on merit; therefore, we participated in the examination. When I came to the Directorate of Hajj and Religious Affairs of the province, delegations from Kabul had come, and we were told that they would take the examination. When I met with the delegations, their first question was whether I knew the national language (Pashto) or not. The second question was whether I had a history of several years of Jihad. In Kabul, they asked five questions in total, including these two.”
He stated that without answering the first two questions, which were related to the literacy of the Pashto language and previous involvement in their wars against the previous government, which were asked by the delegation of the Ministry of Hajj and Religious Affairs of the Taliban, even after answering all other questions, we were unable to succeed in becoming a Hajj teacher. According to him, those selected as Hajj teachers were either core members of the Taliban or individuals who had engaged in espionage for the group during the republic regime. He clarified that apart from these individuals, all the religious scholars failed the examination.
Meanwhile, Mawlawi Abdul Hai (pseudonym), a religious scholar from Badghis province who did not pass the examination for selecting Hajj teachers in this province, alleges that Hajj teachers were chosen in a biased manner by the authorities of the Taliban regime in the mentioned province. According to him, the delegation from the Ministry of Hajj and Religious Affairs of the Taliban in Badghis province posed questions during the competitive examination for selecting Hajj teachers that were unrelated to Hajj matters. This religious scholar added, “They asked me if I spoke Pashto or not and whether I had several years of experience in Jihad against infidels and their supporters. I had neither, so I couldn’t answer.”
He stated that after the examination process concluded, the Governor of Badghis province was present in the courtyard of the office and met with the participants to have discussions with the Hajj teacher selection committee. According to this religious scholar, the governor then selected and approved individuals of his preference as Hajj teachers.
Why was the selection of Hajj teachers important to the Taliban?
According to credible sources within the Taliban’s Ministry of Hajj and Religious Affairs, those chosen as Hajj teachers by this ministry were entitled to various benefits. They continued to receive a specified amount on the days they were present in Saudi Arabia. A source, who prefers not to remain anonymous in this report, told the Hasht-e Subh Daily, “The Taliban provided everything for them; fees, passports, travel tickets, and any other necessary matters were arranged by the ministry for the teachers.”
However, this source also considers another factor as one of the main reasons for the Taliban’s emphasis on selecting their own people as Hajj teachers. The source told the Hasht-e Subh Daily, “After returning from Hajj, each Hajj teacher is given about a thousand US dollars. Moreover, in Saudi Arabia, they also pay Hajj teachers, which amounts to 40 Saudi Riyals per day. In total, they give each Hajj teacher 1,800 Saudi Riyals over 45 days.”
According to the statistics published by the Taliban, approximately 30,000 pilgrims from Afghanistan participated in the Hajj ceremony this year. Previously, the widespread sharing of images by Taliban officials on social media at the end of the Hajj ceremony showed that a significant number of their members had gone to Mecca to perform this ritual. Therefore, the actual number of Taliban members who attended this year’s H process ajj may be much higher, as the mentioned statistics only pertain to three western provinces of Afghanistan. On the other hand, the Taliban had reduced allocations in some provinces, raising speculations that these allocations might have been reserved for Taliban members. This move occurred while the Taliban have always emphasized the importance of justice in their actions during the Hajj.
You can read the Persian version of this investigative report here:
