Sedition Case Against Samajwadi Party MP Over Taliban Remarks

Shafiqur Barq's remark was met with fierce criticism from Deputy UP Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya, who compared it to Pak PM Imran Khan's comment after the fall of Kabul

A sedition case has been filed against a Samajwadi Party MP and two others in Uttar Pradesh's Sambhal district over remarks that seem to compare the Taliban to India's freedom fighters "A case was registered late last night against Shafiqur Rahman Barq and two others for provocative comments about the Taliban. The complainant said the Taliban was compared to Indian freedom fighters and their victory was celebrated," Charkhesh Mishra, the Superintendent of Police in Chambhal district, said in a video statement released today. "The Taliban is a terrorist organisation as per the Indian government and this (the alleged remarks) can be counted as sedition. We have filed a FIR (first information report)," he added. On Monday, the Samajwadi Party's Shafiqur Barq - the Lok Sabha MP from Sambhal - told reporters the Taliban "want Afghanistan to be free" and "want to run their own country".