KUALA LUMPUR – The Taliban leadership, whose forces reassumed power in Afghanistan last month, has given its assurance that the rights of minority communities and women will be guaranteed under its rule.
Speaking to The Vibes, Taliban spokesman Abdul Qahar Balkhi claimed that religious minorities had led peaceful lives during the organisation’s previous rule in Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001.
He urged Afghans to stay in the country, in view of the rate at which people have tried to flee the country. The situation, which includes scenes of utter panic at the Kabul International Airport, has sparked worries of a brain drain.
“The rights of all minorities have and will continue to be protected and guaranteed,” he said.
“These minorities lived a peaceful life during our previous rule and were forced out of their homes during the American occupation and its installed democratic regime.
“We urge all Afghans to return to their homes and assist in rebuilding their homeland,” Qahar said in response to The Vibes.
Qahar was also asked if women would be allowed to become political leaders and even represent their country in sports under Taliban rule.
It was pointed out to him that Malaysia, a country with Islam as its official religion, features minorities and women in the executive branch of government.
“The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan will give all rights to women that have been guaranteed by Islam, including their right to work, education, health and in every other space,” he replied.
On whether Afghanistan can have something similar to Malaysia’s dual justice system, where both civil and shariah laws run in parallel, he stressed that there are differences between the two countries.
Afghanistan, he pointed out, is 99.7% Muslim. It is understood that some 65% of Malaysia’s population is Muslim.
He stressed that the Taliban and Afghan people have sacrificed to achieve the supremacy of Islamic law.
“The people of Afghanistan have given sacrifices unparalleled in human history for their demand of shariah and will not accept any other system except Islamic law,” he said.
On August 24, the United Nations’ high commissioner for human rights, Michelle Bachelet, had raised concerns about the safety of religious minorities under the Taliban regime.
In a statement, she noted previous patterns of serious violations against diverse ethnic and religious minorities under Taliban rule. She said there are fears that these actions will be repeated.
Last Monday, the UN Security Council passed a resolution calling on the Taliban to facilitate safe passage for people wanting to leave Afghanistan, allow humanitarians to access the country, and uphold human rights, including for women and children.
Among minority groups who fear oppression are the Hazara community, who are mostly followers of Shia Islam and had reportedly suffered under the earlier Taliban rule before 2001.
Other affected minorities include the Hindu and Sikh community, said to number about 130,000 in the 1980s but reduced to only 300 by 2021. Almost all of them have made their way out of the country since the Taliban took control this month.
No room for foreign ideologies
Other concerns with regards to the return of Taliban rule revolve around citizens’ participation in politics. There is also the question of whether Afghanistan’s new administration plans to have elections.
On this, Qahar said: “I must stress that foreign ideologies have not worked in Afghanistan even when backed by overwhelming force.”
He however said the Taliban leadership wants the Malaysian government to strengthen “fraternal bonds” by helping Afghanistan under the new rule to rise after years of conflict.
This is in contrast to warnings by Afghan refugees in Malaysia that Putrajaya should tread carefully when dealing with the new Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, led by Taliban militants.
“Many countries have yet to recognise the Taliban,” one refugee had told The Vibes. “I urge the Malaysian government to first see if the Afghan people are happy and only then consider recognising the Taliban government…If they are not happy, then don’t.”
On the presence of militant outfit Islamic State of Iraq and Syria-Khorasan (Isis-K) in Afghanistan, Qahar said that such organisations had no room in the land until the United States intervened by invading and occupying the country in 2001.
Isis-K is an affiliate of the Islamic State terror network which, according to reports, has been joined by Malaysian operatives.
On Monday, The Vibes had quoted Qahar as saying that the Taliban’s central command was unable to confirm news that two Malaysians were among members of Isis-K captured by Taliban forces following a firefight in Kabul.
Qahar also reiterated the Taliban-ruled “Islamic Emirate” of Afghanistan’s stance that the country will no longer be allowed to operate as a base to attack other nations.
“There was no such thing as Isis, nor any room for such ideology in Afghanistan prior to the US invasion, and as the cause behind such extremism ends so too will the phenomenon it birthed.
“As for not allowing operations by such entities, the policy of the Islamic Emirate has repeatedly been announced in very clear terms: we will not allow anyone to use the soil of Afghanistan to threaten the security of others, nor will we allow others to interfere in our own internal affairs,” he said.
Qahar, who is also a member of the Taliban’s Cultural Commission, appeared as a translator on August 24 during the group’s first press conference in Kabul chaired by the organisation’s leader Zabihullah Mujahid.
He gained global visibility for the Taliban after he was featured in an Al Jazeera interview uploaded to social media on August 23. – The Vibes, September 1, 2021
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