Los Angeles [US], February 27 (ANI): Member of the Afghan Parliament in exile, Mariam Solaimankhil, on Friday said that escalating Afghanistan-Pakistan conflict and political power struggles in the region have stripped Afghan women of their rights and security, warning that women and children are paying the heaviest price.

In an interview with ANI, Solaimankhil dismissed claims that recent airstrikes targeted only militants, asserting that civilians were the primary victims.

'It's women and children. We see the pictures. We see the videos. And it's always been women and children,' she told ANI, alleging that violence continues to affect non-combatants both inside and beyond Afghanistan's borders.

She added,' Even within what they call their jurisdiction. If we look at Balochistan and we look at Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, who are they killing? They're killing civilians. Who's in jail right now? It's Mahrang Baloch in Balochistan. It's Ali Wazir. These are the people who they're jailing, while they're still connected with people like Osama bin Laden.'

She further accused elements within Pakistan of fostering extremist groups over the years, naming outfits such as the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), the Afghan Taliban and Lashkar-e-Taiba, and describing the prevailing ideology as 'incredibly dangerous' for the region.

She said, 'They've created TTP. They've created the Afghan Taliban. They've created Lashkar-e-Taiba. I can't even begin to name the dozens of terrorist organisations that exist there. And it's incredibly dangerous because this ideology that they've created is not natural to our region. This is something that was made in Rawalpindi.'

Responding to ANI on the impact of continued fighting, Solaimankhil said the trauma inflicted on women and children extends far beyond immediate casualties.

'We talk about the death toll, right? We talk about the injured, but then do we really talk about the victims that have to live with that trauma for the rest of their lives and how that affects their families and generations to come?' she said. 'Surviving and living are two different things. They're not free. They're psychologically in prisons, and they're in fear at all times.'

She said Afghan women are caught between armed conflict and restrictions imposed by the Taliban, with little access to justice or protection.'There is no UN, there is no Amnesty, there is no human rights for Afghans. It's incredibly sad,' she said.

On the rollback of freedoms for women, Solaimankhil said Afghan women historically enjoyed significant rights. 'Our women had rights before anyone in the West did. I mean, we had the right to vote, we had the right to land, and we had the right to so many things before American and European women did. American and European women recently got these rights, and they could lose them any day,' she said. 'But our women had so much, and due to politics and war, this dirty game, it's been ripped away.'

On whether Pakistan can be trusted to maintain peace, she was sharply critical, alleging that powerful actors had 'made a business out of war.'

However, she stressed that ordinary citizens, especially women, must lead the way towards peace.

'The good people of India, the women of India, and the women of Afghanistan need to get together, and we need to make our region into something we can be proud of. Not sitting there talking about terrorism. That's not who we are,' she said. 'I don't count on the UN, and I don't count on other countries, but I do count on the women of the world, especially in India, because I think we can be the bridges to peace.'

Her comments come amid escalating tensions along the Durand Line between Afghanistan and Pakistan following airstrikes by Islamabad on Kabul, Kandahar, and Paktia, with both countries reporting casualties and accusing each other of aggression. (ANI)