NEW DELHI, Dec 21: Nobel laureate and women’s rights activist Malala Yousafzai has strongly reacted to Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan’s statement that Taliban is predominantly a Pashtun movement, Friday Times reported.
“I nearly lost my life fighting against the Taliban’s ban on girls’ education. Thousands of Pashtun activists and notables lost their lives when they raised their voices against Taliban’s horrors, while millions became refugees. We represent Pashtuns — not the Taliban,” she wrote on Twitter.
On Sunday, Imran Khan had addressed the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) where his remarks about ban on girls’ education and Taliban generated a controversy.
The Prime Minister had suggested that the issue of restrictions on girls’ education is linked to the Pashtun culture and that the Taliban had been making efforts to work towards ensuring that girls go to school.
Further, he said that the Taliban was a predominantly Pashtun movement, reiterating his earlier statement wherein he had termed Pashtuns as Taliban sympathisers.
Imran Khan’s remarks sparked an outrage on Twitter with Afghan activists and journalists sharing how Taliban’s position against girls’ education is not endorsed by ordinary Afghan citizens.
