Resistance Council Condemns Taliban Closure of Khatam al-Nabiyyin University

The National Resistance Council for the Salvation has described the Taliban administration’s closure of Khatam al-Nabiyyin University as a harmful move for higher education in Afghanistan, saying the decision has affected thousands of students, professors and their families.

In a statement released on Friday, 27 September, the council said the closure of the university shows that the Taliban administration is moving to weaken and destroy Afghanistan’s educational, research and intellectual infrastructure. According to the council, the move has also targeted the independence of academic institutions.

In another part of the statement, the Resistance Council also condemned the removal of law and political science disciplines from Afghan universities, saying it deprives the country of specialists in legal and political fields.

The council also strongly condemned the tightening of restrictions on free media, the closure of independent outlets, the arrest, threats and intimidation of journalists, and the expansion of censorship.

The reaction came as the Taliban administration recently first took over the seminary affiliated with Khatam al-Nabiyyin and then shut down Khatam al-Nabiyyin University. Khatam al-Nabiyyin University is considered one of Afghanistan’s well-known educational institutions.