PAKISTAN INTEL BEHIND TALIBAN TAKEOVER OF AFGHANISTAN: U.S. LAWMAKER

WASHINGTON: A top US Republican lawmaker has accused Pakistan and its intelligence agency of playing a key role in supporting the Taliban and allowing it to eventually take over Afghanistan.

Congressman Steve Chabot, co-chair of the India caucus, said in his address to a virtual gala of Hindu political action committee on Sunday that he applauds the Indian government for welcoming Afghan religious minorities who have reason to fear persecution at the hands of the Taliban.

“In contrast, we all know that Pakistan and particularly its intelligence services playing a key role in fostering the Taliban and allowing them to eventually take over. It’s just disgusting to watch Pakistani officials celebrate the victory of this group that will bring untold brutality to the Afghan people,” Chabot said.

“Pakistan’s own persecution of religious minorities, however, gets a lot less attention in America than it deserves. We would do well to educate our citizens about these abuses.

“Persecution particularly manifests in the heinous practice of kidnapping, forced conversion to Islam and forced marriage of underage Hindu girls to older Muslim men,” he said.

Major news organisations and human rights groups have documented the practice with so many heartbreaking stories of girls in their early teens taken from their families for forced marriages. These abuses are often just ignored, said the Congressman.

In his address, Chabot said that with roughly 6mn Hindus in America, they are unquestionably an integral part of our society.