Taliban Higher Education Minister Reportedly Threatens Uzbek Students Over Red Hats
KABUL — Sources told Hasht-e Subh that Taliban Higher Education Minister Neda Mohammad Nadeem threatened, humiliated and slapped Uzbek students at Kabul University for wearing red "Sarpli" hats.
The incident occurred on Wednesday, 19 Hoot — corresponding to April 8, 2026 — around 8 a.m. in the university's main courtyard. The students, from the Department of Uzbek Language and Literature, were collecting garbage at the time.
Nadeem reportedly claimed the red hats were associated with the Pashtun Protection Movement and Khalqis. He trampled the hats underfoot, ordered security guards to expel the students and had identity cards confiscated from some of them.
The red "Sarpli" hats are culturally significant to Afghan Uzbeks, according to the sources cited by Hasht-e Subh.
Hasht-e Subh published the report on April 8, 2026, based on accounts from unnamed sources. No independent corroboration of the incident has been reported by other outlets.
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