Afghanistan’s hard-line Islamist Taliban rulers have banned all political parties, saying there is “no justification” for them under Shari’a law.

“Political parties are banned completely, we will not permit any political party to operate in the country”, - Abdul Hakim Sharaee, the Taliban’s de facto justice minister, said during a news conference.

“Political parties have no justification in Islamic Shari’a law and they are not in the best interest of our nation”, - he added, claiming political parties have been the main factor causing turmoil in Afghanistan for decades.