RASC News Agency: The Purple Saturday’s Movement has issued a statement applauding the U.S. House of Representatives’ approval of a bill to cut aid to the Taliban. In their statement, this women’s protest movement declared: “We urge the Senate and the U.S. government to support this bill and impose real sanctions against the Taliban to protect the people held hostage in Afghanistan, especially women.”
The Purple Saturday’s Movement also called on the U.S. government to provide information regarding the $2.8 billion in aid given to Taliban-controlled Afghanistan. The statement emphasizes that American taxpayers and the Afghanistani people deserve to know how this $2.8 billion in U.S. aid has been utilized under Taliban rule. Additionally, the statement asserts: “One of the reasons for the continued existence of the self-proclaimed and anti-women Taliban government and the transformation of the country into a haven for international terrorists is the covert and overt global aid, including the weekly $40 million support.”
The Purple Saturday’s Movement claims that the Taliban have used this money to “severely suppress the Afghanistani people, particularly women, vulnerable ethnic groups, and religious minorities, committing crimes against humanity, enforcing gender apartheid, and instilling fear and terror among citizens to consolidate their illegitimate power.” Three days ago, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill to halt all U.S. aid to the Taliban. This bill is now with the U.S. Senate and will be enacted upon approval.
The women’s protest movement has also called on the U.S. Congress to pressure the government to take serious action to arrest Sarajuddin Haqqani. The movement condemned the United Nations Security Council’s extension of travel exemptions for Sarajuddin Haqqani, the Taliban’s Interior Minister and leader of the Haqqani network, as “a grave injustice against the Afghanistani people.”
Previously, the United States had offered a $10 million reward for the capture of Sarajuddin Haqqani. However, the United Nations Security Council granted him a travel exemption coinciding with his visits to the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.
