THE United Nations slammed the Taliban on Monday for carrying out public executions, lashings and stonings since seizing power in Afghanistan and called on the country’s rulers to halt such practices.

In the past six months alone, 274 men, 58 women and two boys were publicly flogged in Afghanistan, according to a report by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan.

“Corporal punishment is a violation of the Convention Against Torture and must cease,” said Fiona Frazer, the agency’s human rights chief. 

Ms Frazer also called for an immediate moratorium on executions.

The Taliban Foreign Ministry said in response that Afghanistan’s laws are determined in accordance with Islamic rules and guidelines and that an overwhelming majority of Afghans follow those rules.

In a statement, the ministry said: “In the event of a conflict between international human rights law and Islamic law, the government is obliged to follow the Islamic law.”

The Taliban began carrying out such punishments shortly after coming to power almost two years ago, despite promising a less draconian rule than during their previous stint in power in the 1990s.

They have tightened restrictions on women, barring them from public spaces, such as parks and gyms, in line with their interpretation of Islamic law.