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18-05-2022
By SJA Jafri + Bureau Report
KABUL/ ISLAMABAD: The acting Minister of Interior, Sirajuddin Haqqani, said the Islamic Emirate (Taliban) is committed to the rights of everyone and that it is not forcing women to wear hijab but advising them.
In the second portion released of a CNN interview, Haqqani, the acting Interior Minister of Taliban Regime, said the hijab is not compulsory but is an Islamic order.
“If we talk about the edict, there is Hijab, education, and work. Hijab is an order according to the Islamic Sharia,” he said. “Within the Islamic government, we are committed to the rights of everyone. We are not forcing women to wear hijab, but we are advising them and preaching to them from time to time. Hijab is also (to) create a dignified environment for women’s education and work, hijab is not compulsory but is an Islamic order that everyone should implement.”
When asked about women’s access to work, he said that the Islamic Emirate is seeking to provide work opportunities for women within the framework of Islamic and national principles. “Here in 
Afghanistan there are Islamic, national, cultural, and traditional principles; within the limit of those principles, we are working to provide them with opportunities to work and that is our goal,” he said.
He also said in the first part of the interview that the Islamic Emirate wants “good relations with the US and the international community.”
He said that soon good news will be heard about the education of girls and that a mechanism is being developed in this regard.
Sirajuddin Haqqani, said that the Islamic Emirate wants “good relations with the US and the international community.”
He said that soon good news will be heard about the education of girls and that a mechanism is being developed in this regard.
“We all believe that education has been created as a blessing from God, which has been made essential to both men and women. As I mentioned earlier, there is no one who is opposed to education,” he said. “The problem is education based on the Afghan way of thinking and 
understanding, the culture aspect of Afghanistan. There is an issue of making arrangements of Islamic rules and principles.”
While asked if he still considers the US the “enemy,” the acting Interior Minister, who is also the deputy leader of the Islamic Emirate, said they do not “look at them (US) as enemies” and are committed to the Doha agreement, and want relations with the US based on principles and diplomatic norms.
“I would like to make a small clarification. The period of the last 20 years was a situation of defensive fighting and war. When the agreement was made in Doha, we decided that we would not be talking about this. In the future we would like to have good relations with the United States and the international community,” he said.
Haqqani once again reiterated his assurance that the Afghan soil will not be threatened by anyone.
Meanwhile, Taliban authorities in Afghanistan dissolved five key departments of the former US-backed government, including the country’s Human Rights Commission, deeming them unnecessary in the face of a financial crunch, an official said on Monday.
Afghanistan faces a budget deficit of 44 billion Afghanis ($501 million) this financial year, Taliban authorities said on Saturday as they announced their first annual national budget since taking over the war-torn country last August.
“Because these departments were not deemed necessary and were not included in the budget, they have been dissolved,” Innamullah Samangani, the Taliban government’s deputy spokesman, told Reuters.
Also dissolved was the High Council for National Reconciliation (HCNR), the once high-powered National Security Council, and the commission for overseeing the implementation of the Afghan constitution.
The HCNR was last headed by former Afghan President Abdullah Abdullah, and was working to negotiate peace between the US-backed government of former President Ashraf Ghani and the then-insurgent Taliban.
In August 2021, 20 years after invading Afghanistan, foreign forces withdrew from the country leading to the collapse of the government and a Taliban takeover.
Samangani said the national budget was “based on objective facts” and intended only for departments that had been active and productive.
He added that the bodies could be reactivated in the future “if needed”.
The Taliban ruled Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001 with an iron fist and implemented harsh policies, including banning women from education and work. After taking over last year, the Taliban assured the world they would be more moderate.
However, they are yet to allow older girls to restart education, and have also introduced rules that mandate that women and girls wear veils and requiring them to have male relatives accompany them in public places.
