RASC News Agency: Local sources in Badakhshan report that the Taliban have forcibly coerced dozens of Ismailis in the Nusai Darwaz district to abandon their faith and convert to Sunni Islam. According to these sources, Jummah Khan Fatah, the Taliban-appointed district governor of Nasi Darwaz, has compelled numerous Ismaili followers to renounce their religious beliefs under duress. This act of religious persecution, which has unfolded in recent days, has provoked widespread condemnation. A source from Darwaz confirmed on February 3, that Fatah, during a recent visit to Nusai district, ordered dozens of residents to adopt the Hanafi school of Sunni Islam. A video circulating online depicts the Taliban official coercing individuals into religious conversion.
In the footage, Fatah asserts that he traveled to Nusai during the harsh winter, accompanied by a large delegation of religious clerics, to “invite” people to Islam and deliver the message of Hibatullah Akhundzada, the Taliban’s supreme leader. He further proclaims his mission to be a “successful” religious campaign. The Ismailis of Afghanistan, a persecuted religious minority within the Shia sect, predominantly reside in Badakhshan, Baghlan, Bamyan, and other provinces. Historically, they have endured systematic discrimination and religious oppression, particularly under the Taliban’s rule.
This latest incident is not an isolated occurrence. The Taliban have intensified their campaign of religious coercion, previously pressuring Shia communities in Badakhshan to abandon their faith, further deepening the cycle of religious persecution in Afghanistan.
