Taliban arrest popular Afghan professor critical of govt

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The Taliban’s spokesman says the group has arrested a popular university professor and outspoken critic of successive Afghan governments, including the new rulers in Kabul. The spokesman said in a tweet Sunday that professor Faizuallah Jalal was being held by the Taliban’s intelligence arm. The group accused the professor of “nonsense remarks on social media, which were provoking people against the government and playing with people’s dignity.” The Taliban seized control of Afghanistan after overrunning the capital Kabul last August. The Islamic militant guerrillas-turned-rulers previously held power from 1996-2001. In a tweet early Sunday, Jalal’s daughter pleaded for her father’s release.