Imran Khan defends Taliban at OIC, says 'every society's human & women's rights different'

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on December 19 justified the Taliban’s violations of human rights, discrimination against women, and ban on education for girls as he urged the international community to “understand that the idea of human rights and women’s rights is different in every society.” Addressing the 17th session of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) held in Islamabad, the embattled leader of Pakistan, who has been a staunch supporter of the hardline Islamist Taliban regime that enacted the stringent Sharia law as a basis of governance, told the forum that the Taliban’s culture is similar to the culture in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa of Peshawar where parents were paid stipends to send girls to school, but they were not given education. 

Khan further justified the Taliban’s positioning on banning young girls at education institutions, as he stressed that the countries worldwide must be “sensitive to tribal customs”. He appeared to back the Taliban’s oppressive behaviour and restrictions instated on women that outlined how women must dress up in public. In August, the all-male cabinet of the Taliban government approved a mandate that made it compulsory for Afghan females to wear an abaya or robe, and niqab, or burqa or face strict punishment under the strict interpretation of Islamic law.

Islamabad is 'fighting for recognition of Taliban', Pak PM reiterates

A series of discriminatory rules were enacted by the Taliban across Afghanistan including women can be taught by only women, and that men and women must be separated in a mixed classroom, use separate entrances and exits, and must not blend. Taliban also ordered the young girls and women to stay indoors and not to go to school.

The regime banned women from appearing in roles on television, instructed female municipal workers to stay at home and their jobs can be filled by a man. Several Afghan women have since taken to the street to protest for their basic rights but at the OIC meeting, Pakistan’s leader reiterated that Islamabad is fighting for the world powers to recognize the Taliban government. His remarks were widely slammed as he was criticized for painting the Taliban 'a model regime' for human rights.

Imran Khan told the forum that he had earlier met with the Taliban’s finance minister who categorically said that they want to comply with the demands of the international community in order to have the Afghan assets unfrozen. “Prerequisites for the Taliban are that they must uphold humanitarian and women’s rights and that terrorism should not flow from Afghanistan, otherwise financial aid will be cut, their foreign reserves frozen, banks closed – that’s very important,” said the Pakistani leader, making commitments on behalf of Taliban.

It is being reported that Imran Khan invited the Taliban leaders in order to push for their international recognition. Pakistan’s head of the centre for strategic studies at the ministry of foreign affairs Walilullah Shaheen reportedly informed that the Afghan economy, banking system operations, and normalizing ties of the Taliban with the international community were the main agenda at the meeting. 

Image: AP