Days after Taliban leader Mullah Nooruddin Turabi said they are bringing back punishment like execution to Afghanistan once again, four men were executed and some of their bodies were reportedly seen hung in public view in the city of Herat. Reports said the men had kidnapped a local businessman and his son. In its earlier regime too, the Taliban were notorious for their extreme punishments and their public display, the aim of which is to deter similar crime.

Here are the punishments that the Taliban are known for

> Execution was for convicted murderers. Reports said that the victim’s family were asked to kill the convicted murderers usually by a single shot to the head. The victims could also accept ‘blood money’ and allow the culprit to live.

> As evident from the bodies hanging, the punishment for kidnapping will also be death. In recent weeks, men have been packed into a truck with their hands tied and were paraded around subjecting them to humiliation. 

> Faces have been painted and stale bread have been hung from the necks of some criminals, though their crime was not known, reports said. This is the practice of public-shaming culprits. 

> In the earlier regime, for convicted thieves, the punishment was amputation of one hand.

> For those convicted of highway robbery, a hand and a foot were amputated.

Apart from these, the Taliban inflicted some exceptional punishment during its earlier regime. A women’s thumb was reportedly chopped off because she was wearing nail polish. Public execution was also held.

So, what changes?

Taliban leader, in charge of the prisons, Mullah Nooruddin Turabi said these punishments are ‘essential’ for security. Other countries stand to interfere in these issues and the Taliban are not commenting on their law and order system. The one-eyed and the one-legged Taliban leader said this time judges will adjudicate cases though the principle will be Sharia law. All punishments will remain the same.

Turabi was notorious for his punishments and the band of men who used to ensure that those punishments are delivered immediately. Reports said when the Taliban took power in 1996, he screamed at a woman journalist, ordering her to leave the room full of men. One man objected and was slapped by Turabi.

At that time, he used to rip music tapes from cars, forced men to wear turbans in all government offices and his enforcers routinely beat men whose beards had been trimmed.

(With agency inputs)