Malaysia Reviewing Recognition Of Taliban Administration, Says PM Ibrahim

Mohammad Hassan Akhund, the Taliban’s prime minister, and Anwar Ibrahim discussed regional developments, particularly the recent situation between Pakistan and the Taliban administration.

Akhund expressed concern over rising regional tensions following US and Israeli attacks against the Islamic Republic.

Referring to a temporary ceasefire with Pakistan, the Taliban prime minister said that violence benefits no party. He stressed that actions escalating tensions should be avoided and that issues must be resolved through wisdom and rationality.

According to the Taliban, Malaysia’s prime minister also voiced concern over increasing tensions in the region and emphasized the continuation of the ceasefire between Pakistan and the Taliban.

Zabihullah Mujahid, the Taliban spokesperson, wrote on Thursday that Akhund, during the phone call, reiterated the Taliban administration’s position on resolving issues through “understanding and mutual cooperation.” He added that the group had demonstrated goodwill by halting defensive operations during the Eid holidays.

According to the Taliban, Anwar Ibrahim emphasized resolving differences with Pakistan through “sincere negotiations and mutual understanding,” adding that Malaysia seeks to play a positive role in stopping clashes between the Taliban and Pakistan.

Earlier on Thursday, Malaysia’s prime minister also spoke with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif about recent regional developments. During the call, he expressed appreciation for Pakistan’s peace efforts in the region.

Meanwhile, Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson said in a press briefing on Thursday that Islamabad has resumed “Operation Ghazab Lil Haq” against militant hideouts in Afghanistan following the end of a temporary ceasefire.

He described the operation as “targeted” and said the temporary ceasefire, observed on the occasion of Eid al-Fitr, has now ended.

Sharafat Zaman, spokesman for the Taliban’s public health ministry, said the total death toll from the attack had reached 411, with 263 others injured.

He added that dozens of families have approached Taliban authorities searching for the bodies of relatives, but many remain missing.

The Taliban have buried dozens of victims in mass graves in Sarai Shamali in two stages.

The United Nations has confirmed 143 deaths in the attack.

Pakistani warplanes struck at least nine targets in Kabul and Nangarhar on the night of March 16. The Omid drug treatment center in eastern Kabul caught fire following the strike.

Pakistan’s information minister, Attaullah Tarar, described the incident as a precision operation, saying terrorist facilities and support infrastructure were targeted.

Reports indicate that Taliban military facilities were located near the treatment center.

Pakistan has been accused of failing to observe the principle of proportionality in the strike. International humanitarian law requires parties to a conflict to adhere to proportionality in their attacks.

Foreign ministry spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said on Thursday, March 26, that Islamabad had restarted Operation Ghazab-il-Haq, describing it as a targeted campaign.

He said the temporary ceasefire for Eid al-Fitr had come to an end.

Pakistan launched the operation on the night of February 26, saying its forces were responding to militant attacks and what it called provocative actions by the Taliban, including alleged support for Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP.

The Taliban and Pakistan had agreed to a ceasefire after weeks of clashes, with mediation by Saudi Arabia, Turkiye and Qatar.

During Eid, the Taliban accused Pakistan of violating the ceasefire.

Pakistan said the operation is targeting militant infrastructure and hideouts in Afghanistan. The Taliban have denied the accusations, insisting no group uses Afghan soil to launch attacks against other countries.

UNICEF’s regional director for South Asia, Sanjay Wijesekera, said on Thursday that the time has come to reopen schools to girls in Afghanistan.

In a post on X, he wrote that Afghan girls have waited too long and that reopening schools should bring hope to all.

He said hope, dignity and the future begin with education.

Tajudeen Oyewale, UNICEF’s representative in Afghanistan, also said on X that every girl in the country has the right to go to school.

He added that when girls are educated, communities become stronger and the future is brighter for everyone.

Richard Lindsay, the UK’s special envoy for Afghanistan, said excluding women and girls from education harms the country’s future and that education must be accessible to all.

The Italian embassy for Afghanistan said it hopes the new school year will bring a time when all girls can return to classrooms.

UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Afghanistan, Richard Bennett, also said in recent days that the country is once again starting a school year while girls above sixth grade remain barred from education and women are excluded from universities. He called for an end to these restrictions.

The Taliban began the new academic year on Thursday, March 26, without reopening secondary schools for girls.

Afghanistan remains the only country in the world where girls above primary level are not allowed to receive an education.

In a statement marking the start of the 1405 academic year, the ministry outlined its priorities but remained silent on the fate of girls above sixth grade, who have been barred from attending school.

The Taliban closed girls’ secondary schools on March 22, 2022. Since then, millions of students have been denied education, a basic human right.

Despite widespread domestic and international criticism, as well as reported tensions within the group, the Taliban have shown no sign of reopening girls’ secondary schools.

The ministry said the new academic year had begun in a secure environment and that it planned to provide healthy, standardised and balanced education for students.

According to the statement, its main priorities include restructuring the ministry, holding seminars and workshops to build the capacity of teachers and staff, reopening boarding schools in some areas, constructing and repairing school buildings, conducting standardised exams and facilitating the establishment of private educational centres.

The Taliban’s Education Ministry also said that hundreds of previously inactive schools were reopened last year and that 426 boarding madrassas were established and made operational across all 34 provinces.