Pakistan's biggest fight is against 'retrogressive' thinking: Fawad

Minister says two extremist regimes have emerged on right and left of Pakistan

Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry on Monday said the biggest fight of the Pakistani state is against the "retrogressive thinking" that poses a danger to the country.

The minister made these remarks while addressing the inaugural ceremony of the 'Digital & Photographic Exhibition' in Islamabad.

During the address, the minister said, "One can see that two extremist regimes have cropped up on right and left of Pakistan."

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Fawad was referring to the governments of India and Afghanistan, where the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Afghan Taliban are in power.

Talking about Afghanistan, the minister said Pakistan fully wanted to help the people of Afghanistan as he criticised the measures taken by the Taliban to restrict the movement of Afghan women.

Read: BJP govt aiding dangerous regression in free speech rights: HRW

"Saying that women can't travel alone or go to schools and colleges — this kind of retrogressive thinking is a danger for Pakistan," he added.

In an allusion to rising religious intolerance in India, he said a “similar Hindu extremist mindset” was taking hold in India. According to Fawad, the most important fight of the Pakistani state was against these “extremist ideologies” of the Taliban and the BJP.

He also termed Pakistan as “bright hope” in the region. "We have had failures and successes but hitherto Pakistan is that bright hope in this region, which while remaining in the midst of these extremes can emerge out from them."

Restrictions on Afghan women

Afghanistan's Taliban authorities said on Sunday that women seeking to travel anything other than short distances should not be offered transport unless they are accompanied by a close male relative.

The guidance, issued by the Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, also called on all vehicle owners to offer rides only to those women wearing hijabs.

“Women travelling for more than 45 miles (72 kilometres) should not be offered a ride if they are not accompanied by a close family member,” ministry spokesman Sadeq Akif Muhajir told AFP on Sunday, specifying that it must be a close male relative.

The guidance, circulated on social media networks, comes weeks after the ministry asked Afghanistan's television channels to stop showing dramas and soap operas featuring women actors.