SAME OLD TALIBAN: JOURNOS BASHED
KABUL: In a sign that the “new” Taliban is going to be a lot like the old version, one of the first acts of the new Interior Ministry – under the command of wanted terrorist Sirajuddin Haqqani – was to beat up two reporters.
Their crime? Reporting on a protest by women in Kabul.
Neamat Naghdi, 28, and Taqi Daryabi, 22, were following a demonstration in the capital when Taliban fighters began breaking up the gathering. The two were arrested and taken to a detention centre where they were reportedly beaten until they lost consciousness.
Since breaking up the women’s protest, the Islamists have banned demonstrations that do not have official permission and outlawed slogans that have not been approved.
The two reporters were beaten for about 10 minutes by several men. “They would raise sticks and beat us with all of their strength. After they beat us, they saw that we had passed out. They took us to lock us up in a cell with others,” Mr Daryabi said.
Meanwhile, about 200 people, including US, British and other foreign passport holders, left Kabul airport on a Qatar Airways plane, the first flight out of the capital since the Us-led evacuation of more than 120,000 people ended on August 30.
About 30 US citizens were said to have been on board, as well as Dutch, Italian, Canadian, German and Ukrainian passengers.
The US spoke in positive terms about how the Taliban handled the flight. “They have been businesslike and professional,” a spokesman said.