Coffee shops ordered to shut down in Nimroz

Local authorities in Afghanistan’s southwestern province of Nimroz have decided to shut down coffee shops in the province in order to avoid the ruination of the younger generation.

“We notified them three months ago to close their coffee shops and not sell cigarettes so that society will be corrected and the young generation’s future will not be ruined,” said Abdul Ghafar Farooq, provincial director of Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice.

The official said this while addressing a group of shopkeepers in Zaranj city.

Local residents, however, said that dozens of people will become unemployed with the closure of coffee shops.

“I invested $20,000 to establish a coffee shop. The Islamic Emirate is telling us to shut down, but we don’t have the capital to make a new investment. We already face dues on electricity and rent,” said Nisar Ahmad, a coffee shop owner.

At the event, officials also advised shopkeepers to attend congregational prayers and said that playing music at wedding halls should be avoided.

“During prayer time, shopkeepers should put a curtain in front of their shops or task his son or apprentice to guard the shop and he himself attend the congregational prayers,” said Ehsanullah Ehsan, head of the enforcement unit of the provincial Directorate of Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice.