Detained Uzbek commander brought to Kabul

Alam, who was based in Faryab province, was arrested last Thursday in Balkh, reported Tolo News.

"The person who was arrested ... is still detained by the security forces. The investigation is underway to find out the status of the case," said Bilal Karimi, deputy spokesman for the Islamic Emirate.

A spokesperson of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan Inamullah Samangani said that the detained commander of the Taliban Makhdoom Alam is accused of abduction, thus he has been arrested, and his case is being investigated, reported The Khaama Press.

Inamullah Samangani said that Alam was arrested by the intelligence of the IEA and has been transferred to the Afghan capital Kabul.

His arrest had sparked widespread demonstrations by residents in Maimana, Faryab's provincial capital.

Protestors said that Alam-an Uzbek commander- is arrested on an ethnic basis. They accused the Islamic Emirate of ethnic discrimination against the Uzbek people.

Samangani denied the accusation and added that people should not attribute the arrest to any specific ethnicity, reported The Khaama Press.

"The Taliban has the right to arrest and interrogate people who are accused of a misdemeanour. Makhdoom was asked by the local intelligence office in Balkh province and he himself went there," said the spokesman.

"Remove this issue from your mind--to do something by way of demonstrations. The demonstrations are not going to change anything. The demonstration was set up by Westerners. This is what you call democracy," said the acting Minister of Agriculture Mawlawi Abdul Rahman Rashid, reported Tolo News.

Taliban has largely been comprised of Pashtuns. Moreover, after the formation of IEA, minorities and ethnic groups are susceptible to threat from the majority Pashtun ethnic Taliban.

Afghanistan witnessed a similar situation in the mid-1990s when the government witnessed a Taliban takeover and an ethnic war. (ANI)