Taliban releases prominent Afghan professor from custody: Family

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The Taliban has released a leading university professor and critics bluntly against the consecutive Afghan government captured over the weekend, said a family member.

Hasina Jalal, Putri Faizullah Jalal, said on Tuesday that his father had been released from Taliban detainees. The group accused him of making provocative comments on the government.

Jalal has been detained on Sunday by the Taliban intelligence arm.

“After more than four days of detention on unfounded charges, I confirmed that Professor Jalal was now finally released,” Hasina was posted on Twitter, after launching a social media campaign that called for a direct release.

The old professor of law and political science at Kabul University, Jalal has gained a reputation as a criticism of Afghan leaders over the past few decades.

Jalal has made several appearances at television talks since the US-backed government pushed out in August, blaming the Taliban for the deteriorating financial crisis and criticizing them to rule by force.

In one television appearance, he called Taliban spokesman Mohammad Naeem “Betis”, a big insult in Afghanistan. The criticism clip became an online viral.

Government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid previously said on Twitter that Jalal had made a statement on social media where he “tried to avoid people with the system”.

“He has been arrested so that other people do not make the same sense comment … which endangers the dignity of others,” he added.

The Jalal family said the Tweet shared by Mujahid came from the fake Twitter account they tried to close.

“Taliban only uses these posts as a reason to silence strong voice in the country,” Hasina, a colleague at Georgetown University in Washington DC, told the AFP news agency after arrest.

After his detention, he accepted a outgo of support on social media, with many users who posted Jalal photos. A small group of women protested in Kabul, demanding his release.

In the late 50s, Professor Afghanistan had refused an offer to leave the country after the Taliban seized power, living mostly in hiding in Kabul while his family fled to Europe, according to AFP.

The Taliban won the Afghan control last August before departure August 31 US after almost 20 years of war. The previous group held power from 1996-2001.

Afghanistan faces the main humanitarian crisis, with the anniversary of the United Nations that 90 percent of the 38 million people in the country are in desperate need. The arrest of leading political activists threatens to make it difficult for humanitarian aid efforts.