ISTANBUL

Saudi Arabia and Qatar on Wednesday urged the Taliban-led Afghan administration to backtrack a decision to ban girls from university education.

On Tuesday, the Taliban-run Ministry of Higher Education issued a decision to immediately ban girls from university education until further notice.

In a statement, the Saudi Foreign Ministry expressed "surprise and regret at the decision of the Afghan caretaker government to deny Afghan girls the right to university education."

The ministry went on to call on the Taliban to "reverse" the ban.

For its part, the Qatari Foreign Ministry expressed "deep concern and disappointment” over the ban.

A statement issued by the ministry urged the Taliban administration "to review its decision in line with the teachings of the Islamic religion concerning women's rights."

The Taliban ban was met with a wide condemnation across the world, especially from the UN, the US, Türkiye and other countries.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar