Canada has no plans to recognize the Taliban government in Afghanistan: Anand
Global News
Defence Minister Anita Anand said it is "heartbreaking" for members of Canada's armed forces who served in Afghanistan to see the Taliban back in power.
Defence Minister Anita Anand has said it is “heartbreaking” for members of Canada’s armed forces who served in Afghanistan to see the Taliban back in power.
But Anand told a special Parliamentary committee on Afghanistan on Monday that Canada’s armed forces helped give a generation of Afghans access to school, university and health care.
She said the intervention, which cost 158 Canadian lives, also meant that fewer women and children died in childbirth and women and minority groups enjoyed years of freedoms and rights.
Anand said Canada has no plans to recognize the government of the Taliban, which is listed as a prescribed terrorist group.
The Minister faced questions from MPs on the committee who said humanitarian organizations were facing difficulties delivering aid because of the Taliban’s status.
Anand defended Canada’s record evacuating Afghans and said the military mobilized swiftly last year to transport 3,700 Afghans and Canadians in Afghanistan to Canada as the Taliban regained control.
“Our Canadian armed forces did everything they could to help as many people as possible for as long as they could,” she said.
“The Taliban was advancing very quickly – much more quickly than anyone expected.”