Slaying of Afghani teachers follows rules from Taliban

The Taliban gunmen who murdered two teachers in eastern Afghanistan on Dec. 9 were only following their rules: teachers receive a warning, then a beating and, if they continue to teach, must be killed. The 30 rules, decided on during a high Taliban meeting in September or October and since circulated over the internet, span from the organizational–no jihad equipment may be used for personal means–to the health-conscious–fighters are not supposed to smoke. They also contain a grave warning for aid workers and educators. Rule No. 24 forbids anyone to work as a teacher "under the current puppet regime, because this strengthens the system of the infidels." No. 25 says that teachers who ignore Taliban warnings will be killed. Taliban militants broke into a house in the eastern province of Konar on Dec. 9, killing a family of five, including two sisters who were teachers. The women had been warned in a letter to quit teaching, said Gulam Ullah Wekar, the provincial education director. Their mother, grandmother and a male relative were also slain in the attack. The two sisters brought to 20 the number of teachers killed in Taliban attacks this year, said Education Ministry spokesperson Zuhur Afghan. He said 198 schools have been burned down this year, up from about 150 last year.