Taliban minister ‘forced to flee Afghanistan’ after speech in support of girls’ education

KABUL: A senior Taliban minister who expressed support for reversing the ban on girls’ education in Afghanistan appears to have been forced to flee the country.

Speaking at a graduation ceremony in Khost province, near the Afghan-Pakistani border, on 20 January, Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai, the Taliban’s deputy foreign minister, criticised the government’s ban on girls attending secondary schools and higher education.

“There is no excuse for this – not now and not in the future,” Stanikzai said. “We are being unjust to 20 million people.“During the time of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), the doors of knowledge were open for both men and women,” he said. “There were such remarkable women that if I were to elaborate on their contributions, it would take a considerable amount of time.”

After this speech, and reports of Stanikzai criticising him, the Taliban’s supreme leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada, allegedly ordered the minister’s arrest and issued a travel ban, which pushed Stanikzai to leave Afghanistan for the United Arab Emirates.Stanikzai confirmed to local media he had left for Dubai but claimed it was for health reasons. The Taliban were contacted for comment but did not respond.