Islamabad, Riyadh stress Afghan women’s rights

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Saudi Arabia on Monday reaffirmed the importance of guaranteeing the Afghan women their rights and their full and equal participation in all aspects of life.

Earlier, Pakistan had strongly urged the Afghan authorities to revisit their decision of banning the women from attending universities.

Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari telephoned his Saudi counterpart Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud where besides giving Afghan women their rights, security in Afghanistan was also discussed.

Earlier, when the Afghan interim government had banned women from studying in universities, Foreign Minister Bilawal expressed disappointment over the Taliban’s action but said the best approach remained engagement with the Afghan rulers.

“I’m disappointed by the decision that was taken today,” Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said on a visit to Washington.

”I still think the easiest path to our goal — despite having a lot of setbacks when it comes to women’s education and other things — is through Kabul and through the interim government.”

The Foreign Office had also expressed its ‘disappointment’.

“Pakistan’s position on this issue has been clear and consistent. We believe that every man and woman has the inherent right to education in accordance with the injunctions if Islam”, it had said.

The Saudi foreign ministry had expressed “astonishment and regret” at the Afghan women being denied a university education.

In a statement, the ministry said the decision was “astonishing in all Islamic countries.” Bilawal telephoned the Saudi foreign minister at a time when the security situation has deteriorated in Afghanistan and there have been attacks from terrorist groups on Pakistan from militants based inside Afghanistan.

As terrorist attacks continue in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, there have been reports that the Pak-Afghan border tensions could heat up in the coming days.

Army Chief General Asim Munir had on a visit to the Pak-Afghan border assured that the fight would be taken to the ‘facilitators’ of the militants.

“Both sides also reiterated their support for security, stability and peace in Afghanistan and the importance of international engagement for building a more sustainable future for the Afghan people,” said the Foreign Office.

Reaffirming the fraternal relations between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, the two foreign ministers reiterated their mutual commitment to further enhance and deepen bilateral cooperation across all areas of mutual interest.

Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari thanked the leadership of the Kingdom for valuable flood relief assistance to Pakistan.

”The foreign minister apprised his Saudi counterpart of the upcoming International Conference on Climate Resilient Pakistan, which is being held in Geneva on 9 January 2023.

The Saudi foreign minister conveyed the Kingdom’s strong support for all initiatives aimed at strengthening and reinforcing Pakistan’s post-flood reconstruction and rehabilitation efforts”, added the Foreign Office.