The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has urged the United Nations Security Council and its member states to reconsider their decision to engage with the Taliban regime in Afghanistan.
This appeal precedes the third UN-convened meeting of Special Envoys and Special Representatives on Afghanistan (Doha III) scheduled for June 30 in Doha, Qatar.
In a communication addressed to the Security Council Secretariat Branch, HRCP co-chairperson Munizae Jahangir emphasized the escalating human rights abuses in Afghanistan under Taliban rule, particularly the severe oppression of women and religious minorities.
The letter stressed that any engagement with the Taliban regime should be contingent upon their commitment to ending gender apartheid and safeguarding the fundamental human rights of Afghan citizens.
HRCP’s concerns extend beyond Afghanistan’s borders, highlighting a troubling increase in militancy and religious extremism in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa since Kabul’s fall in August 2021. This surge in violence is attributed to the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which is closely linked to and influenced by the Afghan Taliban regime.
“The HRCP has noted with growing concern a rapid rise in militancy and religious extremism in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The Taliban’s policies of systematic discrimination and violence against women in Afghanistan have emboldened the TTP and radical clerics in Pakistan, resulting in persistent and egregious violations of women’s rights,” the letter stated.
It detailed numerous instances of violence and discrimination against women in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, including attacks on girls’ schools, bans on women accessing markets and public spaces, and edicts preventing women from participating in national elections. One particularly distressing case involved the killing of a young girl in Mansehra by a local Jirga for allegedly bringing dishonor to her family.
The commission also highlighted the resurgence of violence in the Swat region, which had previously experienced a deadly insurgency by the TTP from 2007 to 2009. Since the TTP’s resurgence in Swat in 2022, there have been increasing incidents of violence against women and girls, including an attack on a school van reminiscent of the 2012 assault on Malala Yousafzai.
The letter underscored the international community’s imperative to support democratic forces in Afghanistan, cautioning that the repercussions of an undemocratic regime in Afghanistan could further destabilize Pakistan.
HRCP joined other human rights organizations in urging the international community to demand that the Afghan Taliban regime demonstrate a genuine commitment to upholding the rights of women and religious minorities.
The letter called for the establishment of a stable, inclusive, and representative democracy in Afghanistan as a prerequisite for any engagement with the Taliban regime.
