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Taliban have broken ‘the shackles of slavery,’ says Pakistan PM Imran Khan

Mr Khan was criticised for his double standards

Maroosha Muzaffar
Tuesday 17 August 2021 13:28 BST
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Related video: Taliban are ‘normal civilians’ says Pakistan prime minister
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The Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan said that the Taliban are “breaking the chains of slavery,” inviting the wrath of locals trapped in Afghanistan.

His comments came a day after the Taliban took over Kabul and the presidential palace, prompting chaos and fear among the locals who fled to the international airport and several clung to the wheels of the departing US military aircraft.

One disturbing video that was circulated online showed a few men falling to their death as one of the evacuation planes took off.

During a ceremony launching the first phase of the single national curriculum across schools in Pakistan, Mr Khan said that adopting someone else’s culture was worse than actual slavery. He said: “When you adopt someone’s culture you believe it to be superior and you end up becoming a slave to it.”

He added: “You take over the other culture and become psychologically subservient. When that happens, please remember, it is worse than actual slavery. It is harder to throw off the chains of cultural enslavement.”

Mr Khan said of the Taliban in Afghanistan: “What is happening in Afghanistan now, they have broken the shackles of slavery.”

Two days ago, the former president of Afghanistan Ashraf Ghani fled the country as the Taliban took over the capital. There was massive uncertainty in Kabul and other parts of the country with hundreds trying to flee the country.

The Washington Post reported that human remains were found in the wheel well of a US Air Force plane that departed from Kabul airport on Monday.

A picture of hundreds of desperate Afghan civilians crammed into a US Air Force cargo plane went viral online.

Activists were outraged that US military dogs and their handlers belonging to the US forces were evacuated even as thousands stormed the airport in an attempt to flee the Taliban regime. Pentagon officials confirmed US troops killed two armed men after they reportedly fired on US forces amid the mayhem.

The Afghan airspace has been closed for any commercial flights.

Meanwhile, one user commented on Mr Khan’s comments: “Playboy of yore years... this man has the cheek to talk about culture.”

Another commented: “Prime minister of Pakistan needs to go back to school to learn about Afghanistan’s history… misinformed I must say.”

China said on Monday that it is ready to develop “friendly relations” with the Taliban a day after the group completed its military takeover of the South Asian nation, AFP reported.

Reuters, quoting two anonymous sources, reported on Tuesday that Turkey has dropped plans to take over Kabul airport after US forces withdrawal from Afghanistan but is “ready to provide support if the Taliban request it.”

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