How to make Taliban respect Afghan women? Pakistan's Imran Khan says mainstream them

Pakistan's erstwhile Premier Imran Khan shared his two cents on how to put an end to the women's rights violations taking place in Afghanistan at the hands of the Taliban. According to Khan, the only way to do so is to grant the group more recognition, rather than pushing it further into isolation.

"If you isolate them [Taliban], what influence are you going to have on them? If you mainstream and let them have a state, then talk about human rights. Right now, you push them on isolation; their money is frozen, so why would they listen to anyone?," he rhetorically asked.

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief expressed his strange stance during an interview with British broadcaster Channel 4. With a wishful thinking, he suggested that the international community must acknowledge the Taliban and offer it a platform, which could result in some kind of compliance. 

"My advice is to get them involved, give them a stake in the international community so that when you tell them to have girls educated, they will listen to you; right now, they are not," he added. The former PM's comments come as the Taliban tightens its grip on women's rights in Afghanistan with stringent bans on education, among other things. But this isn't the first time that Khan has recommended the global recognition of the group.

Imran Khan sees 'no other alternative' to Taliban's rule

Last year during his prime ministerial term, Khan said that there is "no other alternative to Taliban in Afghanistan", so the "only option the world has right now is to engage with the Taliban for things to move forward". In a conversation with CNN's Fareed Zakaria, the PTI chief emphasised that Taliban must be recognised for the sake of Afghanistan and more importantly, the world.

"Afghanistan is on the verge of experiencing the worst humanitarian crisis considering the circumstances, is there any other alternative to the Taliban in Afghanistan? No, there isn't," he said, adding that " turning the Taliban away would only lead to chaos in the country".