The Taliban have detained a university student after he criticized the public execution carried out in Khost province, according to the Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice.
Saeef-ul Islam Khyber, spokesperson for the ministry, said on Wednesday (December 3) that the detained individual, identified as Ahmadullah, is a medical student at Malalai Private University in Kandahar and originally from Ghazni province.
According to the spokesperson, the student had posted comments on Facebook condemning the public implementation of Qisas (retribution) and had used what the ministry described as “inappropriate language”.
The ministry stated that legal action would be taken against him “in accordance with Islamic law”.
In his online post, Ahmadullah Akhtarkhil reportedly expressed concern that involving a 13-year-old child in the execution could normalize violence for the younger generation. He suggested that such acts might take children believe that carrying out violence in public is a source of pride or destination. He also raised a broader question about how Afghanistan can guide its youth toward education and peaceful development rather than weapons and force.
The Taliban later released an audio clip, attributed to Ahmadullah, in which he appears to say that his comments did not align with what the authorities consider acceptable under the Islamic system. In the recording, he apologizes to those who felt offended by his criticism of the execution.
It remains unclear under what conditions the recording was made or what the student’s current situation is.
The ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice has previously stated that it monitors social media activity and has detained individuals on multiple occasions for posting critical comments online.
