A day after Pakistan permanent representative to UN Munir Akram made remarks about ban on girl’s education as a peculiar trait of Pashtun culture; the Permanent Mission to UN issued a statement from New York offering explanation & regret.
The Permanent Representative regrets if his remarks may have been misunderstood or hurt anyone’s feelings, reads the statement. The statement further added the remarks were not intended to disrespect Pashtun culture which is “highly progressive and deserves full respect” all across the world and that the permanent representative made reference to the “peculiar perspective” of a small minority which has resulted in the restriction on women.
Earlier Pakistan Permanent Representative to the United Nations Munir Akram during a session of humanitarian briefing on Afghanistan at the UN headquarters made a statement saying the ban on girls’ education and restriction on women in Afghanistan is not an Islamic matter and rather a peculiar perspective of Pashtun culture. The controversial statement invited a series of criticism for terming Taliban restriction as cultural.
In response to a question about the controversial remarks, the spokesperson of Pakistan Foreign Affairs said that Pakistan accords equal rights to women and the innovative and enterprising Afghan women should not be deprived of their rights to progress.