Monitoring Desk
ISLAMABAD/WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced new visa restrictions on Afghan Taliban after the hardline group banned women from access to employment and education.
According to the AFP, Blinken said he was taking strict action to impose additional visa restrictions on certain current or ex-Taliban members, members of non-state security groups, or other individuals believed to be responsible for, and complicit in, repressing girls and women in Afghanistan.
US government restrictions
Blinked said that the restrictions had been imposed after the Taliban restricted women and girls from work and universities.
Since returning to power in August 2021, the Taliban have imposed restrictions on Afghan women and girls, banning them from holding public and private jobs, attending secondary schools, colleges and universities, and going to parks.
At the end of December 2022, they banned women from working for international non-governmental organisations, leading many aid agencies to suspend their activities in the war-torn country.
Blinken also said that Washington would continue coordinating with allied nations to make “clear to the Taliban that their actions could carry important costs and close the path to improved ties with the international community.”
