File photo of Ambassador Munir Akram. Stan Honda—AFP
Reacting to backlash over his apparent equating of the Taliban’s restrictions on women to Pashtun culture, Pakistan’s Ambassador to the U.N. Munir Akram on Thursday clarified that he was referring to a “peculiar perspective” and did not mean any disrespect.
A day earlier, while addressing a briefing at the U.N. in New York, Akram had claimed that the restrictions placed on women by the interim government of Afghanistan were not linked to religion, but rather a “peculiar cultural perspective of the Pashtun culture, which requires women to be kept at home.” This “distinctive cultural reality,” he had added, had been in place in Afghanistan for hundreds of years.
Akram’s remarks drew widespread backlash in both Pakistan and Afghanistan, with critics questioning if he was justifying the restrictions that the Afghan Taliban had imposed on women since returning to power in August 2021. Former senator Afrasiab Khattak, in a posting on Twitter, described the commentary as an insult to Pashtuns. In a direct question to Akram, he wondered if Pakistan was now representing the Taliban on the global stage. Several social media users also questioned Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, wondering if Akram’s remarks constituted a policy statement.
Meanwhile, Shah Mahmood Miakhel, the deputy defense minister of the former Afghan government, said Akram was playing an “ethnic card,” describing it as “shameful.”
In a statement to daily Dawn, the U.N. ambassador sought to backtrack, saying he regretted if his remarks had been “misunderstood or hurt anyone’s feelings.” Stressing that he had not intended to disrespect Pashtun culture, “which is highly progressive and deserves full respect across the world,” he said his commentary referred to the views of a “small minority” that sought restrictions on women.
Earlier, responding to questions from journalists, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Islamabad had sought details of the ambassador’s statement and the context in which it was made. “Pakistan is a country that accords equal status to women. It also respects its commitments under international agreements and conventions,” they said. “We believe that Islam grants equal access to education and women rights and … we have also said that the enterprising and innovative Afghan women should not be deprived of their rights to progress and to follow their dreams.”