THE United Nations mission to Afghanistan said today that the Taliban is investigating death threats against Afghan women who work for the world body.

Dozens of female staff received death threats in May for working with UN agencies.

Since driving out US-led forces and resuming power after a 20-year occupation in 2021, the Taliban have severely restricted women’s rights, banning girls from secondary and higher education, prohibiting women from working in most professions and barring their access to many public spaces, including parks and gyms.

The jihadist group denied involvement in the death threats and the UN said it had told the world body that it was investigating them.

But an Interior Ministry spokesman denied this and even the existence of the threats in the first place.

“The ministry has an independent department for this and we have a strategic plan for protection and security, so there is no threat to them in any area, nor can anyone threaten them, nor is there any threat to them,” Abdul Mateen Qani said.