RASC News Agency: Reports from Nangarhar indicate that Mawlawi Muqtada, the Taliban-appointed head of the provincial prison, has been removed from his position after forcibly marrying a female inmate. Sources confirmed on Saturday, November 23, that the official was dismissed from his post two days earlier. According to these sources, Mawlawi Saeed, previously the head of Paktia Prison, has been appointed to replace Muqtada as the new head of Nangarhar Prison. The Taliban has not issued any statements regarding the incident. Earlier reports suggested that Mawlawi Muqtada had detained a young man and woman who had fled from Pakistan. While the man was released, the woman was compelled into marriage with the prison official.
It is worth noting that the Taliban has previously been implicated in similar cases. Last year, a young woman in the Chah Ab district of Takhar province was forcibly married to a Taliban official. Over the past three years, numerous Taliban officials have engaged in such practices, which are widely condemned as un-Islamic and inhumane. Despite public outrage, the group has consistently exonerated its members involved in such actions. These recurring incidents have led many Afghanistanis to believe that the version of Sharia law the Taliban claim to uphold is not applied to their own members. For example, when Mawlawi Muqtada recently forced a female inmate into marriage, the Taliban neither condemned the act nor took meaningful steps to address it. Instead, they either denied the allegations or maintained silence.
There is widespread skepticism that Muqtada will face justice. Observers anticipate that he will simply be reassigned to another position within the Taliban administration, further undermining accountability and perpetuating impunity.
