Malala Yousafzai, a Nobel Laureate and women’s rights activist, has strongly objected to Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan’s recent comment about women’s education in Afghanistan. He claimed that it is part of Pashtun culture to keep women out of school.

“I nearly lost my life fighting against Taliban’s ban on girls’ education. Thousands of Pashtoon activists and notables lost their lives when they raised their voices against Taliban’s horrors and millions became refugees. We represent Pashtoons – not the Taliban,” Yousafzai said on Twitter.

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Imran Khan, speaking at the Organization of Islamic Countries (OIC) meeting in Islamabad on Sunday, said the Taliban, who currently dominate Afghanistan, were primarily a Pashtun movement. He further said that Islamic State terrorises Pakistan from Afghanistan. 

Former Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Afghans on social media reacted angrily to Khan’s words. 

“An attempt to sow discord among Afghans, and an insult to the Afghan people,” Karzai said of Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s remarks. Imran Khan was also asked to refrain from participating in Afghanistan’s domestic issues. 

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Shukria Barakzai, Afghanistan’s former ambassador to Norway, said the remarks demonstrate his ignorance of Afghanistan’s history. Furthermore, Khan’s views were described as “disgusting and ignorant” by former Afghan vice president Amrullah Saleh, who now lives in exile following the Taliban takeover. 

He claimed that the remarks showed Islamabad’s desire for Afghanistan to be illiterate and reliant on Pakistan. A huge number of social media activists shared images and video footage depicting historic Afghanistan, in which women attended universities and schools and served in various government positions. 

Some claim that Kabul University was created in 1932, long before Pakistan was formed in 1947. Manzoor Pashteen, the leader of the Pashtoon Tahafuz Movement (PTM), also criticised and said that Imran Khan’s views are incorrect and bad in a Twitter post. 

Pashteen stated that Pashtoons have never denied girls’ education or rights. According to Khaama Press report, he wrote, “Stop this colonialism”.