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KABUL: Former President Hamid Karzai called for return of all girls to schools, stressing that even if the international community doesn’t call for this purpose– it is an absolute need of the Afghan society.
He termed the women’s access to education and work as the main demands of the Afghan society itself.
The former Afghan president in an interview with France 24, said there are some initial steps needed to be taken inside the country to lay out recognition for the current Afghan government.
“On the issue of recognition by the international community, my proposal has been from the very beginning this–that we the Afghan people need to put our own house in order first,” he said.
“The first responsibility comes to the current government–to the Taliban government–to make sure that all Afghans from all walks of life–from all the Afghan people–are addressed, brought together, and the future of the country (is) discussed…. The decision is made through the will of the Afghan people. The expression of that will is necessary then definitely recognition will follow,” Karzai said.
When asked about Washington’s decision to split the $7 billion Afghan assets- allowing half of the rough assets to flow for Afghan humanitarian basics and another half to the victims of 9/11, Karzai called on US President Joe Biden to reconsider his decision.
The US President last Friday signed an executive order to seize the $3.5 billion of Afghan assets and give it as compensation to the 9/11 victims. Based on the order $3.5 billion of the assets will be directed to the Afghan humanitarian basic needs.
This comes as the US special envoy for Afghanistan, Thomas West told the US Institute on Peace (USIP), that Biden’s decision has been misinterpreted and that the final decision over the Afghan assets would be taken by the US-based courts.
“Fundamentally the action was about protecting $3.5 billion dollars for the benefit of the Afghan people. There remains $3.5 billion dollars in a court process, but I want to make very clear that no decision has been made by that court on awards,” he said.
But Biden’s decision faced a strong reaction by the Afghans as well as some foreign politicians.
On Tuesday, undreds of Afghans took the streets of capital Kabul on Tuesday to protest Biden’s decision.
