RASC News Agency: Local sources in Balkh Province have informed RASC that a mosque has been constructed in the province at the cost of approximately 22 million kabuli rupees. Local Taliban officials in Balkh have confirmed this report, stating that the mosque, located in Mazar-i-Sharif, the provincial capital, has been completed and is now operational after being built with an expenditure of around 22 million kabuli rupees.
These reports of a lavish mosque construction come at a time when Afghanistani youth, driven to desperation by poverty and unemployment, are fleeing the country en masse, with some tragically resorting to suicide. Just last week, a man in Nangarhar, overwhelmed by poverty, killed his son, and a young man in Badakhshan ended his life by ingesting rat poison, both driven by economic despair.
Since the Taliban’s rise to power, over a million people have fled the country, primarily due to poverty, unemployment, and a lack of security. Despite this, the Taliban continue to invest in costly mosque projects, manipulating public perception and attempting to present themselves as legitimate rulers, while their governance has exacerbated the poverty and unemployment that has led to widespread emigration and suicide.
Sources indicate that the newly constructed mosque, which resembles the Al-Aqsa Mosque, is located at Kamgar Square in Mazar-i-Sharif and was inaugurated on Friday, August 30, in the presence of local officials from Balkh. According to Taliban officials in Balkh, the construction costs for the mosque were covered by Kam Air, an airline company, and it was built to be solid and enduring. They further add that the mosque, completed within a year, can accommodate 200 worshippers at a time. It is noteworthy that the Taliban have been coercing companies to construct mosques and madrassas.
