Local sources from Herat told Afghanistan International that the Taliban arrested two influential Shia clerics in the town of Jibril and transferred them to an unknown location.

According to sources, Mohammad Akbari and Hossein Azimi had previously protested against the Taliban's restrictions on Ashura ceremonies.

Sources said that Mohammad Akbari, the former head of the Ulema Council of the town of al-Mahdi Jibril and the head of the Al-Yasin Seminary, and Hossein Azimi, the former head of the relations between the Council of Ulema Jibril and the Imam of the Sayyid al-Shuhada Mosque.

Sources said that the Taliban summoned the two Shia clerics to the police headquarters in Herat on Saturday evening, November 2, but halfway through the road, they got Akbari and Azimi out of the car and arrested them.

According to sources, it is not clear where the Taliban transferred the two clerics and their fate is not known.

Sources said that a number of clerics went to the office of the Taliban governor on Sunday to demand the release of the two clerics, but the Taliban governor replied that the group's Office for the Promotion of Virtue had filed a complaint against Mohammad Akbari and Hossein Azmi for disobeying the orders of this office.

According to sources, the clerics then approached the Taliban's Office for the Promotion of Virtue in Herat, but Taliban officials there said that they had not filed a complaint against the two clerics.

Sources said that it is not clear which Taliban administration has the custody of Mohammad Akbari and Hossein Azimi.

‘Disputes Over Celebration of Ashura In Jibril’

Some sources from Herat said that the two clerics are influential figures in Herat. According to the information received, this year, Akbari and Azimi took a "serious and decisive" stance and asked the Taliban's Office for the Promotion of Virtue not to prevent the holding of Ashura in Herat.

In July of this year, during the Ashura celebrations, the Taliban suppressed mourning gatherings in various cities of Afghanistan, especially in Herat.

During the dispute over the celebration of Ashura, at least one Shiite youth was killed by Taliban forces in the town of Jibril and a number of others were arrested.

Meanwhile, the Taliban governor's press office in Herat said in a statement on Monday that a number of Shia clerics had met with Noor Mohammad Islam Jar, the Taliban's governor in Herat. The statement said that the clerics shared their "challenges and problems" with the Taliban governor.

Our sources said that one of the main topics of the meeting was the attempt to free Mohammad Akbari and Hossein Azimi from the Taliban's prison.