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Former Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai on Tuesday called on the Taliban to release education activist Matiullah Wesa, Afghanistan-based Khaama Press reported.
Karzai, in a tweet, said he was disappointed with the arrest of Matiuhulla Wesa, an education activist and appreciated Pen path's activities in Afghanistan. "I am disappointed about the arrest of education activist Matiullah Wesa by the Taliban," Karzai said, adding, "Wesa and Pen Path have conducted appreciable activities for education in various parts of Afghanistan since 2009, according to Khaama Press. "I see Wesa and Pen Path's activities in favour of Afghanistan and call on the Taliban to make utmost efforts to free the activist and cooperate with him to expand his activities," he added. Meanwhile, the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Afghanistan, Richard Bennett, also expressed his concern over the arrest of Pen Path founder Wesa and called on Taliban authorities that "his safety is paramount and all his legal rights must be respected," Bennett said in a tweet on Tuesday. In addition, the UN Mission in Afghanistan also called on the Taliban to release Matiullah Wesa and asked to "clarify his whereabouts, the reasons for his arrest and ensure his access to legal representation and contact with family". Wesa, a famous education and human rights activist who advocated for girls' education and founder of Pen Path, was arrested by the Taliban on Tuesday close to his house in Khoshal Khan in the west of Kabul. Wesa has created educational opportunities for thousands of girls across Afghanistan since 2009. Since the closure of the girls' school by the Taliban, Wesa travelled to more than 20 out of 34 provinces of Afghanistan to provide thousands of girls' students with educational resources, according to Khaama Press. (ANI)
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