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Taliban Detain 2 Foreign Journalists and Their Afghan Colleagues

by Ayaz Gul

   Taliban authorities in Afghanistan have reportedly detained two foreign
   journalists and their local colleagues for reasons not immediately
   known.
   The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), in a brief
   statement, confirmed the detentions, saying the journalists were
   working for the relief agency. It did not identify the journalists and
   the Afghans or who took them into custody.
   "Two journalists on assignment with UNHCR and Afghan nationals working
   with them have been detained in Kabul. We are doing our utmost to
   resolve the situation in coordination with others," the UNHCR said.
   "We will make no further comment given the nature of the situation,"
   the refugee agency tweeted.

   Taliban authorities have yet to comment.
   The UNHCR statement came just hours after Afghanistan's former vice
   president, Amrullah Saleh, said on Twitter that Taliban had "kidnapped"
   nine Westerners, including former BBC journalist Andrew North. He
   identified another Westerner in custody as Peter Juvenal.
   "Due to no media, no reporting by citizens and a suffocating
   atmosphere, corruption, crime and atrocities aren't well exposed,"
   Saleh wrote. "As an example, nine citizens of western countries have
   been kidnapped, amongst them Andrew North of BBC & Peter Juvenal, owner
   of Gandomak Restaurant," he added.

   North, who has reported from Baghdad and Beirut for BBC, has been
   working as an independent journalist in Afghanistan and meeting with
   Taliban leaders, according to his personal website.
   The Taliban have been cracking down on dissent since regaining control
   of Afghanistan last August, briefly detaining several local journalists
   and subjecting them to physical violence. But no foreign journalists
   have been detained until now.

   Several women activists have also allegedly been detained by Taliban
   security forces for taking part in anti-government protests and
   demanding rights for women. The Islamist rulers have denied they are
   behind the disappearances and have repeatedly pledged to respect rights
   of all Afghans.
   The U.N. has pressed the Taliban to investigate their disappearance.

   "I am increasingly concerned about the well-being of missing women
   activists in Afghanistan. Several have 'disappeared', some not heard
   from in weeks," U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres tweeted on
   Thursday.

   "I strongly urge the Taliban to ensure their safety so that they can
   return home," he said.