Soon after Prof Mashal was detained, a member of the Taliban's information ministry claimed on social media that he was accused of "provocative actions against the Taliban government" and was being treated well in custody.Ismail Mashal was a lecturer at three universities, and also ran a private educational institute that offered diplomas in many subjects including computer science, economics and journalism - courses the Taliban's education minister said should not be taught to women because they are against Islam, and Afghan culture.
