Naseer Ahmad Faiq, Chargé d’Affaires of Afghanistan’s Permanent Mission to the UN, has recently said that the Taliban’s exclusionary and repressive policies are fueling ethnic and linguistic tensions in Afghanistan.
Faiq said in a tweet on Monday that ethnic and linguistic discrimination and the issue of majority and minority groups were deliberately stimulated by a number of politicians for their personal or group interests in the nearly past two decades – often in support of achieving “foreign” goals.
“These policies have caused violence, poverty, and crises across the country,” Faiq added.
“Currently, the Taliban regime is stepping up similar policies to consolidate their grip on power and justifying their exclusionary and repressive behavior against other ethnic groups and particularly women and girls.”
The Chargé d’Affaires of Afghanistan’s Permanent Mission to the UN highlighted that all ethnic groups have been victims of ethnic, linguistic, and extremist politics and that people should be aware not to be misguided by “external conspiracies.”
These statements are made following the controversial remarks of Zabihullah Mujahid, Taliban’s chief spokesperson, who had said during an interview with Amu TV on Friday that the Taliban are not interested in power-sharing based on ethnicity and called it a “failed experience” of the past.
Mujahid also stated in his interview that Pashtuns constitute the “majority” in Afghanistan, justifying that the Taliban administration is predominantly comprised of Pashtuns, while other ethnic groups are excluded from leadership positions.
