Taliban Detain Former Afghan Lawmaker For Second Time
The Taliban have again detained Haidar Jan Naeemzoi, a former member of parliament and a prominent elder of the Kuchi community.
The Taliban have again detained Haidar Jan Naeemzoi, a former member of parliament and a prominent elder of the Kuchi community.
He was detained on the orders of Taliban’s Justice Minister Abdul Hakim Sharaee, sources in Kabul told Afghanistan International.
Naeemzoi, a former member of the Lower House of Parliament, was transferred to a Taliban detention centre in Kabul last Thursday, the sources said Tuesday.
According to the sources, the justice minister demanded that the Kuchis hand over disputed lands in Logar province to the Taliban.
Naeemzoi’s family confirmed his arrest, saying Sharaee is pressuring Kuchi elders under the pretext of “seizing state land.” “This is the second time he has been jailed on the orders of the Taliban’s justice minister,” the family said. “The first time he was held in a private prison inside the ministry, but this time he is in a Kabul detention centre.”
The Taliban had previously released Naeemzoi on bail, with the condition that the Kuchis surrender the disputed land in Logar, according to the sources.
Some Kuchi elders argue that the justice minister is fuelling ethnic tensions by labelling as land grabs properties that were allocated under decrees of previous Afghan governments.
Nearly two years ago, Afghanistan International reported the existence of a private prison inside the Taliban’s Ministry of Justice in Kabul, where Naeemzoi was allegedly held. At the time, Sharaee said he had the authority, under orders from the Taliban’s leader, to imprison “land usurpers” for up to 10 days.
Last year, members of the Kuchi community presented documents to Afghanistan International claiming that Sharaee was ignoring decrees issued by former President Hamid Karzai regarding Kuchi settlements.
The Taliban’s Ministry of Justice has not yet commented on Naeemzoi’s latest detention.
