The Taliban attacks neckties: they are Christian "crosses" and "must be destroyed"

The Taliban continue to persecute symbols of the West within Afghanistan's borders. This time, it's neckties. A senior Taliban government official claimed that the tie represents the Christian cross and therefore has no place in the Taliban's Afghanistan.

The official was Mohammad Hashim Shaheed Wror, director general of the Taliban government's Directorate of Guidance and Invitation, according to AFP reports. This is a government department that issues recommendations on the line of Islam to be followed on a daily basis. It was in a statement picked up by ToloTv, and which reached the internet this week, when Mohammad Hashim Shaheed Wror lashed out against the use of ties.

"Sometimes when I go to hospitals and other areas, an Afghan Muslim engineer or doctor wears a tie," began the Taliban official. "What is a tie? It is the cross. It is ordained in sharia that you must break it and remove it."

Since the withdrawal of international troops and the fall of the Afghan government, the Taliban have imposed a series of restrictions in the country. They rule with the most radical interpretation of sharia law, which also involves dress codes. However, the restrictions used to affect only women and not men.