The Taliban militants have closed dozens of schools which were supposed to be used as polling centers on the upcoming presidential elections.

On the latest move, the insurgent group has shut down the doors of 62 schools in Mohammad Agha district of Logar province.

Meanwhile, the insurgent have closed 29 schools in Takhar province and 22 others in Kunduz province. At the same time, nearly 60 schools are under high-security threats in these two provinces.

Yousuf Ayobi, the Head of Kunduz provincial council in an interview with Ariana News expressed his concerns and called on the government to maintain the security of polling centers.

“If Taliban send a letter to any area threatening that we will chop off the hands of those who vote on election, no one will kill himself for the sake of president,” Asadullah Sadat, another member of Kunduz provincial council said.

Meanwhile, some residents of Zurmat district in eastern Paktia province, where Taliban controls most of the villages, expressed their concerns regarding the deteriorating security situation.

“Going to polling centers under the Taliban control is very dangerous,” said Sahil Mangal, a resident of Paktia province.

An official in the Afghan ministry of education said that losses around 40 million Afghanis were inflicted to the ministry of education during the October parliamentary elections.

Dastagir Muneer, a senior advisor to the education minister said that they recommended the Independent Election Commission (IEC) to choose mosques as polling centers but it was rejected.

He added that the ministry of education have officially informed the presidential palace regarding the consequences of holding elections in schools.

On the other hand, Zabihullah Sadat, a spokesman for the IEC told Ariana News that Afghan security forces are responsible for the security challenges.

The Afghan presidential election is scheduled for September 28.

This comes as dozens of schools are closed due to security threats for many years and some schools are being used as a military base during conflicts by warrying parties in Afghanistan.