The Taliban, despite their claims of combating administrative corruption and ethnic discrimination, have engaged in widespread corruption within government institutions and have significantly fueled ethnic bias. Findings from a report by the Hasht-e Subh Daily regarding the Education Directorate of Baghlan Province reveal that the principal of a school in Central Baghlan has labeled all Persian speakers as “infidels” and insisted they should not be present at the school. At the same time, sources have uncovered extensive corruption, extortion, and the sale of positions by the Taliban’s Education Director and his team within this institution. According to sources, this local Taliban official, despite a transfer request issued by the group’s governor, enjoys support from Taliban authorities in Kabul and Kandahar, rendering no one able to remove him from his post.
Several residents of Baghlan Province have complained of bribery and administrative corruption in the province’s Education Directorate, which is under Taliban control. They say that, in addition to widespread corruption, nepotism, and ethnic discrimination have intensified within this institution and other government offices controlled by the Taliban, with people facing discriminatory treatment based on their ethnicity.
Zabihullah Mujahid, the principal of Jamiat-e Aiwor Raja High School in Central Baghlan District of Baghlan Province, has called all Persian speakers “infidels” and stated that none of them should remain at the school. An audio recording of his conversation with an elderly individual from his ethnic group, who was apparently mediating on behalf of a Persian-speaking teacher, has been released. In it, he says: “This is a Persian speaker. They are not Muslims and should not stay here.”
Sources report that he lacks the ability to read or write and cannot even locate his signature space on official documents. According to sources, an inspection by the Baghlan Education Directorate had ordered his transfer from the school, but the Taliban’s Education Director in the province defended him, allowing this Talib fighter to remain in his position.
Administrative Corruption and Bribery by the Taliban’s Education Director in Baghlan
Sources indicate that Nur Mohammad Azizi, the Taliban’s Education Director in Baghlan, was implicated about four months ago in a bribery case involving four million Afghanis within the procurement department. However, he received support from the Taliban’s Ministry of Education, and no one has been able to imprison him. According to sources, the case was then shifted onto two lower-ranking managers in the Education Directorate, with the Taliban’s Education Director promising to reinstate them after a change in their positions. So far, no action has been taken to bring these two individuals back.
Sources add that the wedding of the Education Director’s son was held some time ago. The cost of feeding the guests was imposed on one of the school principals, while the wedding expenses were extracted from another school principal in Baghlan.
The source close to the Taliban’s Education Director in Baghlan, says: “One of his sons got married in Central Baghlan. The Education Director is a corrupt man. He forced several principals to cover the cash given to the bride’s family and made another principal pay for the hotel expenses.”
One source remarked: “I saw corruption during the Republic era too, but never to this extent. This individual’s corruption is so extreme that the Taliban governor proposed his replacement, but due to support from the group’s central authorities, he has not been removed. Even Qari Bakhtiar [a Taliban official] went to Hibatullah Akhundzada and suggested that Nur Mohammad Azizi be appointed as Baghlan’s governor. Nur Mohammad Azizi hails from Dand-e Shahabuddin in Baghlan.”
Sources report that on February 27, 2025, the Taliban’s Education Director in Baghlan Province administered an exam for all teachers and collected 50,000 Afghanis from each one, yet the results of this exam have not been announced to date. Sources further note: “They also hold two-person meetings and provide no one with documentation. Without money, he doesn’t do anything.”
Sources confirm that after conducting the teacher exam, the Taliban’s Education Directorate in Baghlan announced 33 teaching positions in Pul-e Khumri and 15 positions in Central Baghlan, continuing to collect money from teachers. According to sources, the human resources manager is the brother-in-law of the Taliban’s Education Director and demands $1,000 per position for the transfer or appointment of principals and administrators.
Sources add that employees hired during the previous government are treated as outsiders and are often exploited more than the corrupt individuals of that time, being used as commission agents due to their bribery history, while they are stripped of any real authority in the administration. According to sources, the Taliban’s Education Director in Baghlan is deeply prejudiced and exhibits ethnic and discriminatory behavior against other ethnic groups in the province.
Previously, the Hasht-e Subh Daily published an investigative report on the Education Directorate of Nimruz Province under Taliban management, revealing that the Taliban’s Education Director there was extensively involved in corruption. According to the report, he engaged in unprecedented arbitrary and illegal appointments while continuing to participate in the sale of positions and financial corruption. Sources had confirmed that he formed a network through which he perpetuated corruption.
You can read the Persian version of this daily report here:
فساد گسترده و تبعیض در معارف بغلان؛ «تمام فارسیوانها کافرند» | روزنامه ۸صبح
