Taliban govt detains aid workers over ‘beard length’

KABUL: The Taliban government’s morality police detained about 20 aid workers near the Iran-Afghanistan border beca­use their beards were not long enough, three sources from aid organisations said on Monday.

The Taliban authorities in Kabul rule according to a strict interpretation of Islamic law and have said men must grow beards longer than a fist.

The staff detained were working on Saturday near the Islam Qala border cro­ssing for organisations that cooperate with the United Nations, according to internal statements sha­red by two aid workers on condition of anonymity.

The morality police arre­sted “national male staff members from UN implementing partner organisations at the Islam Qala Reception Centre due to trimmed or shaved bea­rds”, said one of the internal statements from the International Organisation for Migration (IOM). Some of the aid workers were released the same day, while the rest were freed the following day, it said.

The Propagation of Vir­tue and the Prevention of Vice Ministry (PVPV) did not comment on the incident. However, the manager of morality police officers in Herat province denied the detentions. “No one from NGOs has been arrested or imprisoned,” Ziauddin Taib said.

He said PVPV officials had, however, arrested five government employees from various departments over their short beards.

A third aid worker said police ent­ered a facility “at the Islam Qala border, arre­sted 20 people who were em­ployees of various service-providing agencies at the border”. Those detai­ned were transferred to Ko­h­san, he said.

Published in Dawn, June 23rd, 2026