ISLAMABAD: In a surprising development, Federal Minister for Information, Fawad Chaudhry spoke to Nobel laureate Malala Monday and said “Pakistan would continue supporting endeavours for women’s education in Afghanistan.”

The assurance from the minister came after she expressed concerns about girls’ education in Afghanistan in wake of the Taliban takeover of the presidential palace in Kabul.

Chaudhry said that Pakistan was providing educational facilities to the children of Afghan refugees, adding 6,000 Afghan children were currently studying in the country.

During the call, Malala told the minister about global concerns regarding women’s rights in Afghanistan.

She stressed that Pakistan should play an active role in promoting girls’ education in Afghanistan.

She added that she had also written a letter to Prime Minister Imran Khan in this regard.

On the day of the Taliban’s takeover of Kabul, Malala said she was “deeply worried” about women, minorities, and human rights advocates in Afghanistan.

“Global, regional and local powers must call for an immediate ceasefire, provide urgent humanitarian aid and protect refugees and civilians,” she tweeted.

On Monday, the Taliban declared the war in Afghanistan over after taking control of the presidential palace in Kabul, while Western nations scrambled to evacuate their citizens amid chaos at the airport.

President Ashraf Ghani had fled the country on Sunday as the militants entered the capital virtually unopposed, while hundreds of Afghans desperate to leave flooded the Kabul airport.

Afghans fearing that the Taliban could re-impose the kind of brutal rule that eliminated women’s rights rushed to leave the country, lining up at cash machines to withdraw their life savings.

However, the militants have sought to project a more moderate face, promising to respect women’s rights and protect both foreigners and Afghans.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021