RASC News Agency: Local sources reveal that Abdul Qayum Rohani, the Taliban-appointed governor of Khost province, has brutally assaulted a professor from Sheikh Zayed University before transferring him to his private prison. On Tuesday, December 3, it was confirmed that Hossamuddin Rahimzai, a professor at the Faculty of Islamic Jurisprudence, was rendered unconscious after being severely beaten by the governor’s guards. He is now reportedly enduring torture in the governor’s personal detention facility.
Sources indicate that Governor Rohani had dispatched a group of his associates to evaluate faculty members at Sheikh Zayed University. This initiative faced staunch opposition from Rahimzai, prompting the violent response. The governor reportedly intends to remove the current professors in the Faculty of Islamic Jurisprudence and replace them with graduates of Taliban-controlled religious schools. Additionally, it has been reported that a committee has been formed under the governor’s orders to conduct examinations for the university’s professors, further signaling efforts to restructure academic leadership under Taliban oversight.
This incident comes amid broader efforts by the Taliban to consolidate power across Afghanistan’s educational institutions. Previously, Neda Mohammad Nadim, the Taliban’s Minister of Higher Education, sought to reduce salaries for faculty members at Sheikh Zayed University, sparking concerns over the erosion of academic independence. The Taliban, which assumed control of Afghanistan after the U.S. withdrawal and the collapse of the Republic under Ashraf Ghani, continues to govern in the absence of a constitution. Their leadership operates under self-made laws, enabling unchecked arrests, torture, and the use of private detention facilities to suppress dissent and opposition.
