Local sources say the Taliban’s Ministry of Justice has once again summoned and arrested several local representatives and influential Hazara and Shia figures from Omid Sabz Township in western Kabul.
Sources told the Hasht-e Subh Daily on Tuesday, November 10, that four representatives of the township were summoned to the Taliban Ministry of Justice on Monday and subsequently transferred to the Kabul provincial detention facility.
The sources said there has been no information about the whereabouts of those arrested so far. The arrests come amid ongoing tensions over ownership of land in Omid Sabz Township.
The Taliban Ministry of Justice has declared the township’s land to be “state-owned” and ordered residents to vacate their homes or pay a monthly rent of 4,000 afghanis for each residential room.
Residents of Omid Sabz Township say they purchased and developed the land with their own money and that the houses are their private property.
It is worth noting that several representatives of Omid Sabz Township were also arrested in October and released after pledging to vacate their homes.
Residents of Omid Sabz Township in western Kabul consider these actions part of ongoing pressure by the Taliban Ministry of Justice, led by Abdul Hakim Shara’i, to seize the land and gradually force residents out of the township.
Sources had previously also reported the existence of a place known as the “Stone Room” inside the Taliban Ministry of Justice building, where some residents were being held.
