Filed at 5:41 a.m. ET

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) -- Afghanistan's Taliban militia has ordered all female aid workers working in the war-ravaged Central Asian country to refrain from driving, saying it is ``against Afghan traditions.''

A letter from the Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice asks the Foreign Ministry to ``inform relevant foreign aid agencies that in the future foreign women do not drive cars and ... abide by the regulations of the Islamic emirate.''

A copy of the letter was seen by The Associated Press on Thursday.

It said that female drivers are ``against Afghan traditions and negatively impact society.''

The Taliban -- the Muslim fundamentalist militia that rules 95 percent of Afghanistan -- have come under harsh criticism for their treatment of women. Afghan women are not allowed to drive, and most of them are also barred from education and the workplace.

The Taliban say they are enforcing the tenets of Islam, and point to the fact that women have traditionally not driven cars in the country, even before the Taliban assumed power in 1996.

The latest Taliban restriction is not likely to affect a great many women, since the United Nations and many non-governmental organizations providing relief in Afghanistan employ male drivers.

But Stephanie Bunker, the United Nations' spokeswoman in neighboring Pakistan, said some of the smaller aid organizations could be affected.