Acknowledging achievements made by the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA), the political leader of the Hazara community, Jafar Mahdavi, has however called on the new authorities to fulfill commitments made to the people and form an inclusive government.

“The leadership of the Islamic Emirate has faced a wide range of problems in the political, social, cultural, and especially economic fields; and the excessive pressure by media outlets, increasing public expectations and, unfortunately, external pressure has resulted in the IEA not meeting all its commitments to the people,” Mahdavi said.

In an exclusive interview with Ariana News this week, Mahdavi also said the lack of women’s rights, the closure of girls’ schools, and the forced imposition of the hijab are reasons why the international community has removed itself from Afghanistan.

“The lack of political participation of women, forced hijab, the closure of girls’ schools are factors that have caused the international community to distance itself from the country; therefore, the leadership of the Islamic Emirate is to blame and is responsible, and we hope that reforms will be made in this area as soon as possible and that we will see the recognition of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,” he said.

Mahdavi further said that the only way to resolve Afghanistan’s challenges is to form an inclusive government that represents all ethnic groups in the country, which could lead to gaining international legitimacy.

“Government is not inclusive, my definition and understanding of inclusive government is that members of the cabinet should be from all ethnic groups of Afghanistan,” Mahdavi said. “I call such a formation an inclusive government.”

Meanwhile, Mahdavi blamed the former government and the international community for the extreme poverty in the country. According to him, international aid was cut because former president Ashraf Ghani fled the country. This also led to the current humanitarian crisis, he said.