The Taliban situation has landed a Samajwadi Party MP into a sedition charge as he was accused of celebrating the armed group’s victory after it captured Afghanistan on Sunday.
Shafiqur Rahman Barq and two others were charged for passing “provocative” comments that compared Taliban members of the people who participated in India’s freedom struggle, though they denied making that correlation.
In a video statement released today by the Superintendent of Police in Chambhal district, Charkesh Mishra, the complainant claimed that the three accused had linked the alleged militants to “Indian freedom fighters and their victory was celebrated.”
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The police official highlighted that Taliban is recognized as a “terrorist organization as per the Indian government”. He added that the alleged remarks can “be counted as sedition”, due to which they have registered a First Information Report (FIR).
The incident took place after reporters claimed that the Samajwadi Party’s Shafiqur Barq, Lok Sabha MP from Sambhal, told them on Monday that the Taliban “wants to run their own country” and “want Afghanistan to be free”.
PTI reported Barq saying that the Taliban is a “force that did not allow” western regions like “Russia or the US to establish themselves in Afghanistan” called it an internal affair of the country and questioned the need of anyone else to interfere.
“They want to be free. This is their personal matter. How can we interfere?” he was quoted saying. According to reports, he also mentioned that when India was facing slavery during the British rule, “the entire country fought for independence”.
However, his remarks were misinterpreted and twisted, Mr Barq said in a statement issued today. He denied making any such remark.
“I didn’t make any such statement (comparing Taliban with Indian freedom fighters). My statement has been misinterpreted. I’m a citizen of India, not of Afghanistan… so I’ve no business with what is happening there. I support my government’s policies,” he said.
Nevertheless, politicians rushed to take advantage of the situation as Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya fired Mr Barq with sharp criticism. He went ahead to compare the Lok Sabha MP’s comment with that of Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan after the Afghan government collapsed.
He told reporters outside in Lucknow outside the Assembly building, “Anything can happen in the Samajwadi Party. There are people who cannot sing ‘Jana Gana Mana’… someone might support the Taliban, others could level allegations on police after terrorists are caught. This is appeasement.”
“If this statement has been given (Mr Maurya said he had not personally heard the alleged statement) then there is no difference between that person and Imran Khan,” he further said.
Imran Khan made a controversial statement on Monday following the fall of Kabul. “… in Afghanistan… they have broken the shackles of slavery,” he had said.
