Taliban Deputy Foreign Minister Stanikzai forced to flee Afghanistan due to…, Minister says he is in…

"There is no excuse for this – not now and not in the future," The Guardian quoted Stanikzai as saying. “We are being unjust to 20 million people,” he added.

Written by: Victor Dasgupta Edited by: Victor Dasgupta

Updated: February 4, 2025, 6:26 PM IST

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https://www.india.com/news/world/afghanistan-taliban-minister-deputy-foreign-minister-mohammad-abbas-stanikzai-girl-education-afghan-pakistani-border-hibatullah-akhundzada-khost-province-7590363/ Copy

Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai

New Delhi: In a significant turn of events in Afghanistan, a senior Taliban minister has been forced to flee the country, according to a report. It is important to note that the Taliban’s deputy foreign minister Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai has always advocated for lifting the ban on girls’ education in Afghanistan.

According to The Guardian, Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai, on January 20, during a graduation ceremony in Khost province, near the Afghan-Pakistani border, spoke out against the government’s ban on girls attending secondary schools and higher education. “There is no excuse for this – not now and not in the future,” The Guardian quoted Stanikzai as saying. “We are being unjust to 20 million people,” he added.

Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai said that during the time of the prophet Muhammad, the doors of knowledge were open for both men and women. “There were such remarkable women that if I were to elaborate on their contributions, it would take a considerable amount of time,” Stanikzai was quoted as saying.

After his speech and reports of his criticisms, the Taliban’s supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada reportedly ordered the minister’s arrest and imposed a travel ban. This led Stanikzai to flee Afghanistan for the United Arab Emirates, reported The Guardian.

What did Stanikzai say?

While talking to local media Stanikzai confirmed that he had traveled to Dubai, he said it was purely for health reasons.

To recall, the rights of women and girls to education, work, travel, and public appearances have been significantly restricted since the Taliban’s takeover in 2021.

Last month, the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court sought arrest warrants for the Taliban’s supreme leader and Afghanistan’s chief justice, citing their persecution of women and girls in Afghanistan as a crime against humanity.