West should change it’s view of Afghanistan: IEA defense chief

The West should change the way it looks at Afghanistan, acting defense minister of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA), Mohammad Yaqub Mujahid, said on Sunday.

“Whether it is US or Europe or other countries, they should change the mindset they had for 20 years about Afghanistan. They should look at Afghanistan differently,” Mujahid said at a ceremony to mark the sixth death anniversary of Mullah Akhtar Mansoor, the late leader of the IEA.

Amir Khan Muttaqi, the acting foreign minister, said at the same event that they would face the same fate as former president Ashraf Ghani if they fulfill foreigners’ demands.

Deputy Prime Minister Abdul Salam Hanafi meanwhile assured the people that the IEA will prevent injustice in Afghanistan.

“We consider it our Islamic obligation. We will stop anyone who oppresses people anywhere in Afghanistan,” Hanafi said.

Mullah Akhtar Mansoor headed the IEA for almost a year before he was killed in a US drone strike in Baluchistan, Pakistan on 21 May 2016.

Speaking at the ceremony, Deputy Prime Minister Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar said that the IEA had advanced significantly in its armed struggle under the leadership of Mansoor.

Deputy Foreign Minister Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai, however, warned that governments opposed by the public will not last long.

“Women have not been granted their Sharia rights. A widow still cannot choose her husband. A girl cannot choose her husband. Everyone will laugh if a woman demands her inheritance rights,” Stanikzai said.

He said that girls have not been granted their right to education.

“Education exists in Afghanistan, but not how it should be. Grant them their rights. Where can women learn Islam and Sharia. They learn in Madrasas and schools,” Stanikzai said.