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Top UK lawmaker says Britain should reopen embassy in Kabul and work with IEA
Britain should reopen its embassy in Kabul and start negotiating with the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA), a senior member of the UK’s parliament has said.
Tobias Ellwood, who is the chairman of the defence select committee in the UK parliament, said he is “no Taliban-appeaser” but it is time to start working with the Afghan government in order to prevent the country entering another cycle of “instability, terrorism and mass migration,” Telegraph reported.
Ellwood, who has served in the British army, said a more pragmatic strategy is needed by the West if things are to improve in Afghanistan.
It is almost two years since NATO withdrew from Afghanistan and the IEA took over the country, but no country has recognized the government.
Ellwood, who has just returned from a visit Afghanistan, said he has witnessed real progress and believes it is now time to start negotiating with the IEA, no matter how unpalatable that might seem.
He said Afghanistan is currently more peaceful than it has been since the 1970s and despite the ban, women are being allowed to return to work because the economy demanded it.
“I recognise their (IEA’s) policies will never align with our ideals. But I witnessed unreported compromises the war-exhausted nation is currently willing to accept,” Ellwood said.
The MP stressed that Afghanistan remains extremely fragile with widespread food shortages and half of the country’s nine million children not having access to school.
But he said engagement is the only way to have a hand in helping to shape the future.
“If the West continues to sulk we could be making another blunder which pushes the nation to a fiscal cliff, potentially igniting another cycle of instability, terrorism and mass migration,” he said.
“A more pragmatic strategy is necessary. The Taliban’s (IEA) restrictions on women’s rights may well serve as a negotiation tool for shared understanding.
“But such a possibility will remain unknown until we wake up. The first step is reopening our embassy. The second is to get real,” Ellwood said.
Hamid Karzai, the former president of Afghanistan, says the demand of Afghan girls for the reopening of schools and universities is their fundamental right and adds that Afghanistan cannot have a bright future without ensuring access to education for girls.
In a statement on his X (formerly Twitter) account, Karzai said: "The demand and voice of our country’s girls for education and knowledge is a rightful one and crucial for a prosperous Afghanistan."
He further emphasized, "Empowering the youth—both girls and boys—is the only way to achieve self-reliance, break the cycle of poverty, and drive the development and prosperity of society."
Karzai underscored that education is vital for Afghanistan’s growth and development, expressing hope that the doors of schools and universities for girls will be reopened as soon as possible.
Mawlawi Hebatullah Akhundzada, the supreme leader of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA), has issued a decree to establish special courts to address pensions, Bakhtar news agency reported on Saturday.
According to the decree, the courts must confirm and process pensions in accordance with Sharia and law.
Pensioners have repeatedly voiced concern over delay in payment, saying that their financial challenges are growing.
Earlier this year, IEA's supreme leader banned money being deducted from salaries of government employees for pensions.
He also requested information on the tenure of employees and the total amount deducted from salaries for pensions.
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Blinken urges immediate lifting of restrictions on women’s education and work in Afghanistan
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Saturday called on the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) to immediately lift restrictions on women's education and work.
Marking two years of the ban on women's education in universities and women's work in NGOs, Blinken said on X that women and girls are the lynchpin to a more stable and prosperous Afghanistan.
“It’s been two years since Taliban (IEA) banned women and girls from universities and Afghan women from working in NGOs. Afghan women and girls are the lynchpin to a more stable, peaceful, and prosperous Afghanistan. We call on the Taliban (IEA) to immediately reverse these edicts,” he said.
The Ministry of Higher Education announced in December 2022 that women and girls could not attend public and private universities "until further notice".
Previously, girls' education above the sixth grade was also suspended.
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