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Pakistan FM calls on IEA to reverse bans on women and girls in Afghanistan
Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has called on the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) to reverse restrictions on women and girls in the country.
Speaking at a press briefing on the outcome of the Women in Islam Conference in New York this week, Bhutto Zardari said that the IEA’s actions on women and girls are not the norm within the Muslim world.
“There is no other country on the planet, Muslim or otherwise, that condones depriving women and girls from the right to education,” Bhutto Zardari said.
“There is no space for groups such as those in Afghanistan or anywhere else to claim that Islam justifies their actions,” he added.
Bhutto Zardari also said that the IEA was not living up to its commitment, which makes it tough for Pakistan to advocate for Afghanistan.
“It puts us in a very difficult situation to advocate for some of the things that the people of Afghanistan need in the form of humanitarian aid, the unfreezing of their funds, the functioning of their economy, etc.” he said.
Bhutto Zardari, who chaired the meeting at the UN, said earlier in the week to participants that he opposes the general perception that Islam represses women.
“Islam was the first religion to give rights to women,” he declared adding that “Islam forbids injustice against women.”
The United Nations has warned that around one million children in Afghanistan are suffering from life-threatening severe acute malnutrition and could die without urgent treatment.
UNICEF said on Tuesday that about 3.7 million children across Afghanistan are suffering from wasting, a condition caused by acute malnutrition.
Tajudeen Oyewale, UNICEF’s representative in Afghanistan, said around one million of these children are suffering from severe acute malnutrition, which is considered the most dangerous form of acute hunger.
“If there is no treatment and we are not able to act fast, that one million number are at risk of dying,” Oyewale said during a media briefing in Geneva, speaking from Kabul.
He said the nutrition crisis is worsening across the country, with more than 500,000 children requiring hospital care so far this year for moderate and severe wasting.
According to UNICEF, nearly 40 percent of children admitted to hospitals with severe wasting and medical complications are babies younger than six months. Children under the age of two account for more than 80 percent of severe acute malnutrition cases.
Oyewale said malnutrition is playing a major role in the increasing number of deaths among very young children in Afghanistan.
The situation has also placed growing pressure on hospitals. In July last year, around 6,000 severe malnutrition cases were recorded, while the number rose by about one-third to more than 8,000 cases by July this year.
“In parts of southern Afghanistan, some hospitals are now seeing three or four severely malnourished children for every available bed,” Oyewale said.
Kabul Municipality says the districts of Bagrami and Chahar Asyab will be incorporated into Kabul city as part of a broader plan to expand and develop the capital.
Nematullah Barakzai, a Kabul Municipality official, told the BBC that Kabul has experienced significant growth in recent years, both through the expansion of the city’s boundaries and the construction of high-rise buildings.
“Kabul is not only growing vertically, but it has also seen considerable horizontal expansion, which can be observed on Google Maps,” Barakzai said. “Kabul currently has 22 municipal districts, and Bagrami and Chahar Asyab are also expected to be incorporated into the city.”
The municipality has not yet announced a specific timeline for implementing the plan.
Bagrami is located about 15 kilometers from central Kabul, while Chahar Asyab lies south of the capital and serves as one of the main routes connecting Kabul with Afghanistan’s southern provinces.
Amir Khan Muttaqi, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Emirate, met with Mohammad Nasser Mohammad Al-Sayer, CEO of Kuwait’s Al-Sayer Group.
According to a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Emirate, the meeting focused on Afghanistan’s current situation, security, stability, as well as opportunities in trade and investment.
Muttaqi described relations between Kuwait and Afghanistan as historical and positive, expressing hope for further expansion of comprehensive ties between the two countries.
Nasser Al-Sayer, expressing his satisfaction with his visit to Afghanistan, said he wanted to establish trade relations with Afghanistan in the future.
He added that his company plans to export fresh and dried fruits from Afghanistan to Kuwait and other markets.
The two sides also emphasized expanding economic and trade relations, strengthening joint cooperation, facilitating travel, and making effective use of investment opportunities available in Afghanistan.
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