Taliban detains Uzbek journalist in Kunduz

Afghanistan’s Taliban interim government has detained Nazira Rashidi, an ethnic Uzbek journalist working for Uranus TV. Rashidi’s sister, Hajira Rashidi, told QALAMPIR.UZ about the arrest.

According to her, the journalist has been held in Taliban detention for the past week in harsh conditions, with her hands and feet reportedly chained.

Rashidi is the mother of two children and the sole breadwinner of her family. Her husband was a soldier during the former republic under Ashraf Ghani and was killed by the Taliban in 2021 when the group seized power.

“The Taliban, together with media outlets and affiliated organizations under their control, are exploiting my sister’s journalistic work to build a dangerous and legally questionable case against her. They are first attempting to damage her reputation and social standing and are laying the groundwork for further actions,” Hajira Rashidi said.

She also called on Uzbek and other Turkic communities worldwide, as well as politicians, scholars, and influential figures, to launch a broad campaign through social media and mass media outlets to demand Nazira Rashidi’s release and to protect her life and reputation.

“If we do not act quickly, it may be too late. We also appeal to the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan to urgently intervene and take measures to ensure Nazira Rashidi’s release and to protect her life and dignity,” she added.

Amid these developments, the Taliban confirmed Rashidi’s detention, stating that she had been arrested along with four other women as part of a “criminal case.”

Juma ul-Din Khakisaar, spokesperson for the Taliban’s Kunduz provincial security command, said on January 12, 2026, that Rashidi was not detained due to her media activities. However, he did not disclose specific details regarding the criminal case under which she was arrested.

It is worth noting that earlier reports emerged that the Taliban interim government had completely dismantled a statue of the great poet and thinker Alisher Navoi, who lived during the Timurid era, in the city of Mazar-i-Sharif. Following the reports, Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs contacted Taliban representatives to seek an official explanation.

Subsequently, Marshal Abdul Rashid Dostum and his daughter Rohila Dostum issued warnings to the Taliban, stating that the group would eventually regret its actions.

At the time, Afghan officials claimed that the statue had been removed by local authorities because the site was deemed unworthy of Navoi’s legacy and that a more suitable memorial complex would be built in his honor. However, this promise has yet to be fulfilled.

In February 2023, the same statue of Alisher Navoi in Mazar-i-Sharif was partially damaged. Uzbekistan’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Akhror Burkhanov described the incident as “vandalism,” citing Afghan representatives who said the damage had been caused by unknown individuals.

As of January 2 this year, inscriptions in Uzbek and Persian were removed from the facade of a university in Samangan, a province predominantly inhabited by ethnic Uzbeks. Following the incident, Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that restrictions on the Uzbek language were a matter of concern. On January 6, officials from the ministry contacted the Afghan side, after which the Taliban pledged not to impose restrictions on the Uzbek language. Following criticism, Uzbek-language signage was restored to the university facade on January 11.