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Karzai urges immediate return of girls to school to help economic future
Former president Hamid Karzai said in an interview this week that Afghan girls should return to school immediately, stressing that education was needed to help the country “move ahead” and reduce its reliance on the rest of the world.
“The most important and pressing issue is the return of Afghan girls to school from grades 6 to 12,” Karzai said in an interview with Al Arabiya.
“These are the issues and these are the decisions of the Afghan people [that] require of the current government to make so that Afghanistan moves ahead with education, so that Afghanistan is able to stand on its own feet rather than being a country that is in need of the world, rather than being a country from which its people are running away, that has to stop.”
Karzai also said that a power-sharing model of governance was “not necessary” so long as the Islamic EMirate of Afghanistan (IEA) interim government earned the approval of the Afghan people.
“…The whole idea [is] to bring about a feeling that Afghanistan belongs to all its people and that the government of Afghanistan is representing all its people, and that it is moving in a direction where the aspirations of the people are being fulfilled.”
Karzai said that one way the IEA can gain the approval of the country’s people was to ensure the return of girls to school.
“It is in the interest of the Afghan people to have Afghan women get educated. The entire Muslim world is getting girls educated. Islam emphasizes the education for girls, [it] lays immense emphasis on education and learning, and Afghanistan cannot be an exception. The Afghan woman obey hijab fully among the best in the Western world in this regard. Therefore, there is no reason there cannot be an excuse not allowing girls to go to school,” he said.
Zalmay Khalilzad, the former US special representative for Afghanistan, has questioned Pakistan’s commitment to the welfare of the Afghan people, citing Islamabad’s policies over the past three decades.
Khalilzad said in a post on X that Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif advocated for the rights of Afghan women during his speech at the UN General Assembly on Friday.
Sharif said: “Fundamental rights of the Afghan people — especially women and girls — must be respected.”
Responding to the remarks, Khalilzad said Pakistan’s policies over the past 30 years raise questions about Sharif’s commitment to Afghan welfare.
He cited Pakistan’s support for militant groups against US forces and what he described as the poor treatment of Afghan refugees as examples.
Khalilzad also said Afghanistan and Pakistan need and should have much better relations, adding that “a reset is necessary.”
India’s Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri met with the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Afghanistan, Rabab Fatima, on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.
Indian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in a post on X that Misri underscored the need to keep addressing the humanitarian needs of the Afghan people as a priority.
Misri also appreciated the role of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) and reaffirmed India’s continued cooperation with the United Nations on Afghanistan.
The meeting comes as Afghanistan continues to face humanitarian and economic challenges, with international agencies warning of significant needs among the Afghan population.
Kazakhstan’s Foreign Minister Mukhtar Tileuberdi has called for pragmatic and coordinated international engagement with Afghanistan, saying the country’s long-term stability is closely linked to the security and sustainable development of Central Asia.
Speaking during the general debate of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Friday, Tileuberdi said humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan remains essential but alone cannot break the cycle of poverty, displacement and dependency.
He said Kazakhstan supports a “pragmatic, coordinated and step-by-step” approach to international engagement with Afghanistan, with the United Nations playing a central role.
Tileuberdi also said Kazakhstan is working with the UN to operationalize the United Nations Regional Centre for the Sustainable Development Goals for Central Asia and Afghanistan in Almaty.
He said the success of the centre should be measured by the results and assistance it delivers to the region.
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