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The
Taliban on Wednesday backtracked on their announcement that high
schools would open for girls, saying they would remain closed
until a plan was drawn up in accordance with Islamic law for
them to reopen.
The u-turn took many by surprise, leaving students in tears and
drawing condemnation from humanitarian agencies, rights groups
and diplomats at a time when the Taliban administration is
seeking international recognition.
In a statement, Turkey's foreign ministry said education for all
students, including girls, was the expectation of the Afghan
people and that it regretted the Taliban's decision.
"We call on the Interim Government of Afghanistan to allow girls
of all ages to partake in education in an inclusive manner as
soon as possible first and foremost for the benefit of the
Afghan people, and emphasize that we will continue to stand by
the Afghan people in these difficult days," it said.
Since the takeover of Afghanistan in August by the hardline
Islamist Taliban, Turkey has been working with Qatar to maintain
operations at Kabul's Hamid Karzai international airport, while
holding talks to operate that airport and others if its security
conditions are met.
Turkey has not recognised the Taliban leadership, but it has
called for more global engagement with them. Ankara also invited
Taliban officials to a diplomacy forum it hosted this month, and
has said the Afghan leadership must be heard.
The Taliban is seeking to run Afghanistan according to its
interpretation of Islamic law, and it wants to gain access
billions of dollars in aid to help meet the challenge of
worsening and widespread poverty.
(Reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)
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