Hameed Ansari, the head of a youth organization in Balkh, has been arrested by the Taliban over lack of coordination with the Taliban-run economy directorate for his work with UNAMA, local sources said.
Ansari heads a youth organization in Balkh called Northern Youth for Peace, which has carried out awareness campaigns on peace and civic engagement in Balkh, Samangan, Jawzjan and Faryab provinces.
The group has operated since before the Taliban takeover in 2021 and has received support through projects affiliated with the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), sources said.
Ansari was taken into custody after the Taliban’s provincial Department of Economy accused his organization of continuing projects with UNAMA without coordinating with local authorities, according to people familiar with the case. Officials reportedly found the group’s project reports “incomplete and disorganized” and said its activities lacked transparency regarding budgets and funding.
Ansari remains in Taliban custody, the sources said. Taliban officials in Balkh have not commented publicly on the arrest.
