Afghanistan's intelligence agency has detained two Afghan producers working for Al-Jazeera television without an explanation, the Doha-based satellite station said Monday. English service producer Qais Azimi was told to report to the offices of the National Directorate of Security (NDS) on Sunday but had not been allowed to leave, Al-Jazeera reported and one of its journalists confirmed to AFP.
A producer for the Arabic service, Hamidullah Mohammad Shah, was at the same time picked up at the broadcaster's offices in the centre of Kabul. "The NDS summoned Qais and said it was to answer some simple questions and later they sent men to our office to take Mohammad Shah as well," journalist Waliullah Shaheen told AFP. Shaheen said the arrest of the Arabic service reporter may be linked to his brief detention by Taliban insurgents in the eastern province of Kunar last month.