In recent days, the Taliban appear to have increased their political arrests, detaining four notable individuals, including a religious scholar, two political analysts, and a former member of Afghanistan’s parliament.
Local sources confirmed to Amu TV that Jawed Kohistani, a military and political analyst; Khyber Hoshmand, a political analyst; Shapoor Hassan Zoy, a former member of parliament under the previous Afghan government; and Abdul Qadir Qanat, a religious scholar, have been arrested by the Taliban within the past week.
As of yet, the Taliban have not issued an official statement regarding the arrests.
A committee advocating for the release of Javed Kohistani expressed concern about his well-being, citing fears of torture and mistreatment in Taliban custody. The committee emphasized that Kohistani, who recently underwent heart surgery, requires ongoing medication and urged the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) to facilitate contact between him and his family to ensure he has access to necessary medical care.
The timeline of arrests is as follows: Khyber Hoshmand was detained on Tuesday, September 24, in Kabul’s District 8; Shapoor Hassan Zoy on Wednesday, September 25, in Nangarhar province; Javed Kohistani on Thursday, September 26, in Kabul’s Sarai Shamali district; and Abdul Qadir Qanat was arrested later in the week.
Qanat, the former head of Kabul’s Ulama Council, had occasionally appeared in the media as a commentator after the fall of the previous government, at times criticizing Taliban policies.
Several former Afghan prosecutors have said these arrests demonstrate the Taliban’s attempt to suppress dissent. “The Taliban are trying to impose one voice across Afghanistan. They fear any opposition to their rule, and this is why they are targeting the intellectuals, scholars, university professors, human rights advocates, and other informed citizens of Afghanistan,” said Ghulam Farooq Aleem, a former prosecutor.
The arrests seem to be taking place under the framework of the Taliban’s general amnesty, though previous reports from the United Nations have documented violations. The latest U.N. report, released in August, noted four extrajudicial killings, nine arbitrary detentions, and six cases of torture involving officials and military personnel of the former government.
While the Taliban have consistently denied these accusations, concerns persist. Along with Shapoor Hassan Zoy, Allah Gul Mujahid, another former member of parliament, has been detained by the Taliban on murder charges since May, though no further information has been released about his case.
The recent detentions raise fears of an escalating crackdown on opposition voices in Afghanistan.
