Rise of Taliban adversely affecting South Asia Report

KABUL: As the situation in Afghanistan is deteriorating by the day, there have been reports emerging that radical Islam is on the ascent in Bangladesh, Pakistan, and even India since the Taliban took over Afghanistan, said a media report.
Writing in The J.CA, Rachel Avraham, a political analyst cited an interview of Shipan Kumer Basu, President of the World Hindu Struggle Committee where he stated that with the rise of the Taliban to power, there are fears that the situation will further deteriorate.
"Over the past few weeks, extremists Muslims have carried out barbaric attacks on Hindus by placing the Quran in a Hindu puja mandap (temporary places of worship). The people of the Buddhist community were not left out either. Due to false rumours of blasphemy, in more than 31 districts, Hindu idols were vandalized, Hindu homes were attacked and looted, and many Hindu women were gangraped," Basu said.
From Basu's perspective, Bangladesh has always been associated with developments in Afghanistan - and the rise of the Taliban there has led to a euphoria of radicalism in Bangladesh, which has a government that was already pampering radical Islamists, said the report.
According to the report, earlier this week, radical Islamists clashed with the police while en route to Pakistan's capital city. These riots, which did result in the death of a couple of police officers, resulted in the government releasing 350 banned Islamist activists.
At the same time, there are also reports of Pakistani cricketers praising radical Islam and promoting bigotry against non-Muslims. A recent Gallop poll found that 55 per cent of Pakistanis would support the installation of a radical Islamist government similar to the Taliban in Afghanistan, the report stated.
And in Afghanistan itself, the situation is deteriorating by the day, thus increasing the possibility that such radicalism will influence the entire region.
Meanwhile, the European Parliament recently held an international conference on "the situation of women's rights in Afghanistan after the Taliban's takeover."
The conference was organised by Manel Msalmi, a well-known feminist and human rights activist.
In the conference, one of the speakers was Zarifa Ghafari, a former Afghani mayor of Maidan Shar. Ghafari proclaimed: "Afghanistan has undergone drastic changes in the past few weeks. Since the Taliban has illegitimately wrested power on 15 August 2021, it has been building a narrative of a 'moderate Taliban' to gain recognition from the International community," The J.CA reported.
According to Ghafari, "It is becoming clear that Taliban 2.0 is going to be worse, as its worldview remains unchanged, rooted in medieval ideologies. Especially on the crucial issue of women's rights."
"The new government formed by the Taliban is all-male, comprising mostly mullahs. Even in the ministry of education, female professionals are absent. The Taliban's higher education ministry consulted only male teachers and students on resuming the function of universities," she added.

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