By NNN-APP
London : A delegation of British Muslims which visited Afghanistan recently has lauded the contribution of the British Government for the development and progress of the country but added that among others poppy cultivation remained difficult challenges.
The delegation whose visit was facilitated by Foreign and Commonwealth Office was in Afghanistan from March 29 till April 4.
The delegation members comprised MP Sadiq Khan, prospective Labour Party candidate Yasmin Qureshi, Barrister Fatim Kurji Jumabhoy, community worker Mustafa Suleyman and media expert Saad Mohseni.
An FCO official also briefed the media on the just concluded NATO summit held in Bucharest, Romania.
Speaking on the occasion, Sadiq Khan, one of the four British Muslim MP and the first ever MP of Muslim faith in London, said during their visit, the delegates had the opportunity to meet with a range of people including members of the Lower House, legislators, students, government officials and project funded by the British Government.
Khan said they had been able to remove the misperception of Afghan people about the Muslims in the West. He said people of Afghanistan desire the coalition forces to remain in their country until the danger posed by the Taliban was no longer there.
At the same, time, he said the people desired the Afghan government to hold talks with the Taliban as they believe that war was not the solution and the issue could be resolved only through dialogues.
The delegation visit was a part of ‘Projecting British Islam’ programme whose aim is for British Muslims to challenge misconceptions about the reality of life for Muslims in Britain and showcase the integral role Muslims play in British society.
It is also to amplify the voice of mainstream British Muslims to counterbalance the extremist ideology and narrative overseas and in UK and to enable cross-fertilisation of ideas between British Muslims and those in the Muslim world.
Yasmin Qureshi said during their inter-action they found the Afghan people have a lot of goodwill about Pakistan and appreciate the support and assistance being rendered by the neighbouring country to help them ease over their difficulties.
She said the women of Afghanistan specially in Kabul are making a steady stride and at present there were 68 women legislators in the Parliament. The enrolment in schools, colleges and university has also gone up and the literacy rate stands between 35 and 40 per cent.
However, she noted that in the rest of the Afghanistan, the plight of women needs to be improved and the British aid was working towards to achieve this objective.
Saad Mohseni said the media was steadily growing in Afghanistan with a number of TV and radio networks increasing gradually. ‘Media is success story in Afghanistan as TV channels were being seen by 45 per cent of the population while radio was accessible to some 95 per cent of the population.’
The delegates said the poppy cultivation was very attractive among the Afghan farmers as they get a high return on their produce. They said the British Government was providing a significant amount of aid on development projects and to wean the farmers away from poppy cultivation.
Responding to a question, Sadiq Khan robustly defended that the aid being provided by the British Government was not being wasted and was being utilised on projects that would ultimately bring prosperity to the Afghan people.
He said the people think that American forces often employ heavy- handed approach while the British Army acts in a sensitive manner. The delegate noted that while Afghan Police need more training, its Army was doing quite well.
They also said democracy will take time to establish itself in the land-locked country and expressed hope other NATO countries apart from USA and UK will be able to shoulder more burden in the light of the recent NATO Bucharest summit.