Hairdresser in Kabul says Taliban official told him to ‘stop following American styles’.

File: Taliban fighters stand guard in a vehicle along the roadside in Kabul.

The Taliban has banned some hairdressers in Afghanistan from shaving or trimming beards as the militant group extended its hardline rule based on Islamic law within a month of seizing control of the country.

A letter signed by Taliban officials asked salons to enforce “puritanical Islamic law” and warned them that violators would be punished, said a local journalist in a tweet.

A hairdresser running a prominent salon in Kabul said he received a call from a Taliban official instructing him to “stop following American styles”.

File: Taliban fighters stand guard in a vehicle along the roadside in Kabul