Afghanistan: Prominent professor held for criticizing Taliban rule

Prominent Afghanistan University Professor Faizullah Jalal who is a vocal critic of the Taliban leadership has been arrested in Kabul on Saturday.

Prominent Afghstan University Professor Faizullah Jalal who is a vocal critic of the Taliban leadership has been arrested in Kabul on Saturday.

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 last year, blaming the Taliban for the worsening financial crisis and criticizing them for ruling by force, according to Al Jazeera.

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".

Meanwhile, Jalal's wife Massouda, who ran against former President Hamid Karzai in 2004 as Afghstan's first woman candidate for the presidency, posted on Facebook that her husband had been arrested by Taliban forces and detained in an unknown location, according to Al Jazeera.

On the other hand, US-led sanctions on the Taliban government have halted much-needed international aid to Afghstan, which faces a humtarian crisis of epic proportions. The United Nations has warned that 90 per cent of the country's 38 million people are in dire need.

Also, the arrest could further complicate humtarian aid efforts as it reinforces fears that the Taliban are imposing the same harsh and repressive rule as their last stint in power from 1996-2001, according to Al Jazeera.

( With inputs from ANI )