AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): Local sources in Kabul say a number of Hazara and Shia figures and social activists were arrested by Taliban forces on Sunday, September 6.
According to sources, Sayed Sufi Gardizi, Sayed Hasan Sharif Balkhabi, and Mohammad Hossein Sangardost are among those arrested. It is also reported that three visitors, a cook, and two guards of the Public Relations Office of Hazara and Shia Leaders have also been arrested.
Independent sources have not yet confirmed the exact number of detainees, and Taliban officials have so far not released a list of those arrested, the reasons for their arrest, or their place of detention.
Transfer of Sufi Gardizi from the Kabul Governor's Office to the Ministry of Justice
According to eyewitness accounts, on Sunday morning, a number of Shia scholars, elders, and influential figures were meeting at the Public Relations Office of Hazara and Shia Leaders in Kabul.
At the beginning of the meeting, a call was made from the office of the Taliban governor of Kabul to Sayed Sufi Gardizi, asking him to come to the governor's office for a meeting.
Eyewitnesses say that after Gardizi arrived there, he was told that individuals from the Taliban Ministry of Justice were present to transfer him. He was then taken to the Ministry of Justice along with armed forces.
According to sources, after his transfer to the Ministry of Justice building, his family and close ones received no clear information about his condition or whereabouts. Other media sources have also reported Gardizi's transfer from the Kabul governor's office to the Ministry of Justice and the lack of information about his situation.
Siege of the Public Relations Office of Hazara and Shia Leaders
At the same time, reports have emerged that Taliban forces have also surrounded the Public Relations Office of Hazara and Shia Leaders and have taken positions inside the building.
This office operates in a building previously belonging to Mohammad Mohaqiq, a Hazara political leader and head of the Islamic Unity Party of Afghanistan.
Various media outlets have confirmed the arrest of Sayed Sufi Gardizi during this operation, although differing reports have been published about the number of other detainees.
Notably, Sufi Gardizi has been among the Shia figures who have interacted with Taliban officials in recent years and has even attended some official meetings of the group's government.
The Taliban Ministry of Vice and Virtue had previously published the names of Sufi Gardizi and Sharif Balkhabi among the Shia figures who, in a meeting with officials of that ministry, had emphasized cooperation with the Taliban government.
Arrests One Day After the Khatam al-Nabiyyin Crisis
These arrests come just one day after forces affiliated with the Taliban Ministry of Justice surrounded the Khatam al-Nabiyyin (p.b.u.h.) Seminary in Kabul and demanded that officials and students evacuate the center.
According to reports, a number of teachers and students of this center have also been arrested during the recent developments. The Taliban has not yet released official details about the number of detainees from the seminary or the charges against them.
These actions have drawn reactions from a number of scholars, cultural activists, and Shia figures, who have called for an end to the use of military force in disputes over religious and cultural centers.
History of Disagreement Between Shia Figures and the Minister of Justice
Tension between a number of Shia leaders and Abdul Hakim Sharia, the Taliban Minister of Justice, is not new.
In recent months, a group of scholars, former parliament members, and Hazara officials within the Taliban structure had criticized the Ministry of Justice's policies toward Shia centers and areas at a meeting in western Kabul.
Sayed Sufi Gardizi and a number of other Shia figures were present at that meeting, and participants called on the Taliban leadership to prevent what they described as the "arbitrary actions" of the Minister of Justice.
Sufi Gardizi had also been summoned to the Ministry of Justice on the eve of Muharram along with a number of representatives of the Shia community. Sources at the time said they had been asked to commit to the removal of some flags, water fountains, and restrictions on the use of loudspeakers in Shia areas.
Simultaneously, the Office of Rah-e-Farda Television Was Also Closed
In continuation of Sunday's developments, media sources also reported that the Taliban has closed the office of the private television network "Rah-e-Farda" in western Kabul.
The office of this network is located near the Public Relations Office of Hazara and Shia Leaders. The Taliban has not yet explained the reason for this action either.
Rah-e-Farda Television is among the media outlets primarily associated with Afghanistan's Hazara and Shia community.
Taliban's Silence on the Reason for the Arrests
As of the time of this report, the Taliban Ministry of Justice, the Kabul governor's office, and other institutions of the group have not issued any official explanation regarding the reason for the arrest of Sayed Sufi Gardizi and other reported figures, the possible charges against them, or the status of their detention.
The official announcement page of the Ministry of Justice has also not published any statement explaining these arrests as of the time of review.
The simultaneity of the arrest of several Shia figures, the siege of the Public Relations Office, the ongoing crisis at the Khatam al-Nabiyyin Seminary, and the closure of the Rah-e-Farda television office have heightened concerns about increasing pressure on institutions and figures associated with the Hazara and Shia community in Kabul.
However, until the Taliban provides an official explanation and the charges against the detainees are clarified, it is not possible to definitively attribute the motive for these actions to religious or ethnic factors. But the breadth and simultaneity of recent events have increased the need for a clear explanation from Taliban officials regarding the legal basis for the arrests and the condition of the detainees.
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