LATEST NEWS AFGHANISTAN By TOLOnews TODAY - 8:40 PM Taliban Close 29 Government-Sponsored Madrasas in Logar

The Taliban have also warned faculty to stop teaching at these centers, which are run by the Afghan Ministry of Education.

“It’s very unfortunate that we are not allowing someone to go the mosque or Madrasa, or to read the Holy Quran or to teach. It’s now three months that all Madrasas have been closed in areas under the government control,” said Sayed Farhad Akbari, a tribal elder in Logar.

 “The move can have several reasons: either they don’t want the government to have control of religious centers, or the Taliban’s recruitment has been reduced there,” said Sayed Qaribullah Sadat, a member of Logar’s provincial council, suggesting that the closures might be punitive.

 A Taliban spokesman said that the group shut these centers down after determining that they were not in line with the Taliban’s doctrine.

Local officials in Logar have said that efforts are underway to reopen these Madrasas.

 “We assure you that efforts are underway to open these centers in the coming days; we are in contact with the tribal elders,” said Abdul Wakil Kaliwal, head of Logar’s Education Department.

The closure of the religious schools has deprived over 2600 students from learning, among them 900 girls.