Prominent Afghan Professor Arrested For Criticizing Taliban Rule
Category: World News
A prominent Afghan university professor and outspoken critic of the Taliban
leadership has been arrested in Kabul.
Faizullah Jalal, a longtime professor of law and political science at Kabul University, has made several appearances on television talk shows since the US-backed government was pushed out in August, blaming the Taliban for the worsening financial crisis and criticising them for ruling by force.
In one television appearance, Jalal called Taliban spokesman Mohammad Naeem a “calf”, a grave insult in Afghanistan. Clips of his passionate criticism went viral on social media, sparking concerns of retribution.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid tweeted that Jalal had been detained on Saturday by the Taliban’s intelligence arm over statements he made on social media in which he was “trying to instigate people against the system and was playing with the dignity of the people”.
“He has been arrested so that others don’t make similar senseless comments in the name of being a professor or scholar that harm the dignity of others,” he added.
Faizullah Jalal, a longtime professor of law and political science at Kabul University, has made several appearances on television talk shows since the US-backed government was pushed out in August, blaming the Taliban for the worsening financial crisis and criticising them for ruling by force.
In one television appearance, Jalal called Taliban spokesman Mohammad Naeem a “calf”, a grave insult in Afghanistan. Clips of his passionate criticism went viral on social media, sparking concerns of retribution.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid tweeted that Jalal had been detained on Saturday by the Taliban’s intelligence arm over statements he made on social media in which he was “trying to instigate people against the system and was playing with the dignity of the people”.
“He has been arrested so that others don’t make similar senseless comments in the name of being a professor or scholar that harm the dignity of others,” he added.
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