Jul 02, 2022
By Jeremy Logan
International Development Minister Harjit Sajjan says the government is looking at adjusting a law outlawing any dealings with the Taliban that charities complain is impeding their ability to help Afghans.
Sajjan says the government is considering changes to the law to create “flexibility” to make humanitarian help in the impoverished country easier.
He says other countries, including the U.S., have already created some exemptions to allow humanitarian work to continue.
But, in an interview with The Canadian Press, the minister insists Canada will not lift the Taliban’s designation as a prescribed terrorist organization.
Charities working in Afghanistan say the current law bans them from working directly with Afghan authorities, as well as organizations including universities that pay tax to the Taliban government.
Sajjan says despite the ban on working with the Taliban, Canada has provided around 150 million dollars in aid to Afghanistan through U.N. agencies and the Red Cross.
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