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'They have broken shackles of slavery': Pakistan PM Imran Khan endorses Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan

WION Web Team
IslamabadUpdated: Aug 16, 2021, 05:50 PM IST
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Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan. Photograph:(ANI)

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Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday seemed to endorse the Taliban taking over Kabul by saying that Afghanistan has broken the "shackles of slavery" in the neighbouring war-torn country.

Pakistan's Prime Minister appears to be endorsing the Taliban as they take control of Afghanistan.

On Monday, a video surfaced on social media purporting to show Imran Khan praising the Taliban's takeover of the neighbouring nation. 

The Pakistan PM appeared to praise the Taliban in a video broadcast on Pakistani television, saying that "they have freed the chains of mental slavery in Afghanistan."

Also read | Afghanistan: Where did US go wrong in fight against Taliban?

Khan made these statements while speaking at a ceremony to inaugurate the first phase of the Single National Curriculum (SNC), which is part of his ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party's platform and covers grades 1 to 5.

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The prime minister explained how Pakistan's parallel education system resulted in the establishment of "English medium" schools and the adoption of "someone else's culture." 

When you accept someone's culture, you feel it is superior, and you become a slave to it, he said, adding that it creates a mental enslavement system that is worse than physical slavery.

In the same sentence, he compared Afghanistan's continuous turmoil to the country's people "breaking the chains of slavery."  

LIVE: Afghanistan crisis

The longstanding war in Afghanistan reached a watershed moment on Sunday when the Taliban insurgents closed in on Kabul before entering the city and took over the presidential palace, forcing embattled President Ashraf Ghani to join fellow citizens and foreigners to flee the country.

Pakistan is accused of supporting the Taliban insurgency, which culminated in the country's capture 20 years after it was evicted.

Officially, Pakistan has stated that it wants a broad-based, inclusive administration in Afghanistan and that it is hosting Afghan officials to help them reach an agreement for a peaceful transition. 

(With inputs from agencies)