Taliban to restrict Swedish activities in Afghanistan: ‘Until they apologise’

The Taliban have ordered the immediate suspension of all activities by Sweden in Afghanistan over the incident of burning of Quran in Stockholm in late June by an Iraqi national which sparked widespread protests in Muslim nations.

Zabiullah Mujahid, the official spokesperson for the Taliban administration, said the “rude act” should push other Muslim nations to reassess their ties with Sweden where the incident took place during the major Muslim holiday of Eid ul-Adha.

“After insulting the Holy Quran and the Muslim faith in Sweden, the Islamic Emirate suspends Sweden’s activities in Afghanistan until they apologise to the Muslims for this heinous act. IEA’s relevant organisations are obliged to comply with this directive,” the spokesperson said.

He added: “Looking into the rude act of Sweden, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan wants other Muslim countries to reconsider their interaction with this country.”

The statement comes two weeks after an Iraqi immigrant in Sweden burned the holy book of Islam outside a mosque as nearly 200 onlookers witnessed the act at an anti-Quran protest ahead of Eid.

Sweden waded into a diplomatic row shortly after with Turkey, which at the time contested Stockholm’s entry into Nato, but the tensions eased up in July on the eve of the alliance’s summit in Vilnius where it gave its nod for the bid.

The latest move stopping Swedish activities is likely to impact the European country’s non-governmental organisation – Swedish Committee for Afghanistan – which has employed thousands of aid workers in multiple critical sectors of health, education and rural development in the country. Mr Mujahid did not mention the organisations set to be hit by the latest edict.

Officials at the Swedish Committee for Afghanistan have not issued an immediate response to the order by the Taliban.

The country’s aid sector is in a dire situation after the fall of Kabul, exacerbated further by a chain of restrictions on women aid workers.

Additionally, funding restrictions for the United Nation’s annual humanitarian plan suggested that the donor nations are now pulling back on their financial aid for Afghanistan, leaving millions of citizens on the brink of starvation, poverty, and declining medical aid.

While the Swedish police have rejected several recent applications for anti-Quran demonstrations, courts have overruled those decisions, saying they infringed on freedom of speech.

The Taliban enforce a strict version of the sharia law in Afghanistan. After grabbing power following the departure of US troops in August 2021, the hardline group – whose administration is not recognised by most countries of the world – has predominantly barred women from working or studying and free movement unless accompanied by a male guardian.

The regime itself had brutally cracked down on peaceful marches in protest against its draconian policies on women after it came to power in Afghanistan, with authorities using live ammunition, batons and whips and causing the deaths of protesters.

Sweden, like other European nations barring Russia, does not operate an embassy in Kabul after the hardline Islamist regime took over.