Taliban Justice Minister Accused of Humiliating Two Hazara Officials in Kabul

DID Press: Reliable sources say Abdul Hakim Sharae, the Taliban’s acting justice minister, summoned and allegedly rebuked, insulted and humiliated two senior Hazara officials during a meeting at his office in Kabul on Monday, August 10.

According to the sources, Sharae contacted Madar Ali Karimi, deputy minister at the Ministry of Urban Development, and Abdul Latif Nazari, deputy minister at the Ministry of Economy, on Sunday night and ordered them to appear at the Justice Ministry the following morning.

The two officials reportedly met with Sharae from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., during which they were allegedly subjected to verbal abuse and humiliation.

Sources said Sharae had also summoned Mohammad Hassan Ghiasi, deputy minister at the Ministry of Public Health, to the meeting, but Ghiasi declined to attend. Karimi and Nazari are reportedly among the most senior Hazara officials within the Taliban’s current administrative structure.

The incident comes amid escalating tensions between Afghanistan’s Hazara and Shia communities and Sharae over an order concerning the eviction of residents from Omid-e Sabz Township in western Kabul.

Meanwhile, a delegation of Hazara and Shia elders reportedly submitted a complaint to the Taliban’s Interior Ministry. Abdul Haq Omari, a deputy interior minister, allegedly told them not to leave the township unless Taliban supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada personally issued an order.

The Taliban’s Commission for Prevention of Land Grabbing, headed by Sharae, had previously ordered residents of Omid-e Sabz Township to vacate the area. Sources said the commission is also reviewing cases involving other Shia-populated townships in Kabul, Mazar-e Sharif, Herat and several other provinces.