The Taliban’s Ministry of Justice has dissolved the Afghanistan High Commission for Shiite Affairs, confiscated the membership cards of its 25 members and barred them from entering its office, sources in Kabul said on Monday.
According to IRAF, informed sources confirmed that the commission, which was reportedly established in coordination with the Taliban’s intelligence agency, had been completely disbanded.
The sources said Taliban officials had contacted commission members a day before the dissolution, asking them to visit the Ministry of Justice to follow up on efforts to secure the release of the commission’s chairman. After the members arrived, their membership cards were confiscated and they were informed that the body had been dissolved.
A separate source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Mohammad Ali Akhlaqi, chairman of the Afghanistan High Commission for Shiite Affairs, remained in detention at a private prison inside the ministry, under the authority of Taliban Justice Minister Abdul Hakim Sharae.
The source said the Taliban had asked Akhlaqi to vacate his private home in Omid Sabz Township and hand it over to the group in exchange for his release. The Taliban have declared the township to be “emirati” (state-owned).
Unconfirmed reports have also emerged that six senior commission members, including four former members of parliament, are being pursued by the Taliban. The six are reportedly residents of Omid Sabz Township.
The commission’s chairman and members were detained about a week ago when they visited the Taliban’s Ministry of Justice to mediate efforts to secure the release of several prominent Shiite community figures.
Earlier reports said Abdul Hakim Sharae, the Taliban’s acting justice minister, had described the commission as a “political-intelligence body” and maintained that such organizations were not permitted to operate under the Taliban government.
Despite reports that the commission had received financial support and coordination from the Taliban intelligence agency during its establishment, Sharae said there was “no need for this intelligence body” and that its activities should be halted.
