Rukhshana Media reported that the Taliban has established a jihadi school for followers of the Shia Ismaili sect in Shighnan District, Badakhshan.

According to the report, Taliban's Sunni mullahs teach Sunni religious books to children in the predominantly Shia Ismaili district of Shighnan.

Rukhshana Media reported on Monday (October 28), citing its sources, that the Taliban's action is "an attempt to forcibly convert the residents of this district", who are Shia Ismaili.

In October this year, the Taliban's education department in Badakhshan announced the establishment of a madrassa called "Imam Hussain" in the centre of Shighnan district.

Rukhshana media reported that more than 200 male children from the Ismaili sect of the district are studying in this school, and the teachers who were hired from schools outside the district were graduates of Taliban’s madrassas.

Rukhshana Media quoted their source as saying that none of the books taught in this school are common in the Ismaili sect.

Residents of the district said that in Shighnan, a religious school of the Ismaili sect already existed, which provided religious education based on the teachings of this Shia sect of Islam.

Residents of the district also said that the Taliban teach children about jihad, war and extremism in this madrassa.

The Taliban has paid special attention to the extensive establishment of jihadi schools after their return to power in Afghanistan. According to the Taliban government, the group has so far established more than 21,000 religious schools across Afghanistan. Taliban officials consider the establishment of jihadi madrassas important in maintaining the group's influence and power in Afghanistan.