Afghan Minister MASSOUDA JALAL strongly worded response to Sultani

KABUL: By declaring her support to the Taliban and broaching the creation of “Islamic State in Afghanistan, similar to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS)”, Ghazni representative Huma Sultani has betrayed the trust of the people who put her in office. Her mandate deserves to be recalled. Her recall and/or suspension from the Parliament will enable the public to desist from looking up to her as a public figure and credible opinion maker in the political scene.

Sultani has a moral obligation to come out in national television and explain the wisdom behind her agitating political pronouncements. The Taliban should also issue an official confirmation of her claim as the lone peace negotiator on behalf of Mullah Omar. Unless these are done, the Parliament should consider suspending her on the ground of false misrepresentation which is a conduct unbecoming of a legislator. Her own constituents in Ghazni should also initiate a recall of her mandate due to loss of confidence. Since, she has long ceased to perform her functions as a member of the Parliament, she is no longer serving the interests of her constituents. Huma Sultani should be reminded that she was elected as a representative of Ghazni and she has no right to use her position to espouse ideologies that do not reflect the sentiments of the people whom she vowed to represent.

We are deeply sorry that a woman with an illustrious background on human rights has issued such an irresponsible pronouncement. As former head of the women’s development section and director of the central region of the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission, she is no stranger to the deaths and sufferings that Afghan women experience due to the Taliban’s anti-women ideologies. We call upon her to rethink her position and desist from being used as a Taliban’s pawn to aggravate the misery of our people.

The Citizen adds: Huma Sultani, an Afghan lawmaker has recently said that she supports the Taliban ideology and endorses an Islamic State in Afghanistan, similar as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). An audio tape in circulation links Sultani to the Afghan Taliban. She is heard speaking with one Wahid Hasheimi in Australia where she claims to be involved in the recent suicide attack on the NATO troops convoy in Kabul.

Reports from Kabul suggest that she has cut ties with Afghan lawmakers and even family members, and is not sharing her thought processes and activities with them. No step has been taken by the authorities to arrest her, although her whereabouts are well known, and she has even refused interviews to the media saying she will speak when the Americans are defeated in Afghanistan.

Etimadi claims that the audio tape being circulated on social websites is authentic. Sultani had also said two years ago that Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar had been her guest for a long time. The Taliban has not responded to her comments so far.

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