QUETTA, Dec 19: Deputy chairman of the interim Afghan government, Dr Seema Samar has said that she is not afraid of Afghan warlords and would make all-out efforts to ensure women’s human rights are respected.

“I am not afraid of warlords and know how to deal with them. I have been facing them for the past 23 years,” Dr Seema Samar said while talking to reporters at her residence after arriving from Karachi on Wednesday.

“I am afraid of my new responsibilities which are heavy and important. But I am sure I will fulfil them with the help of Afghan women and people,” she said.

Over the past 23 years, Afghan women were denied even their basic rights, she said. “They were deprived of education, health facilities, freedom of expression, selection of profession, even dress,” she noted.

“All restrictions imposed on Afghan women would be removed and they would begin feeling the difference.”

She said she would do her best to direct women towards development. They would soon be free to decide whether or not to wear Burqa, she added.

“In my talks with US Secretary of State Colin Powell, I pressed for induction of women soldiers in the peacekeeping international force,” Dr Seema said, and added that he promised to give the proposal a sympathetic consideration.

Responding to a question, she said the first priority of the interim setup would be to restore peace and provide an infrastructure to their war-battered country.

The interim Afghan government would bring all political and ethnic groups on one platform to resolve the long-standing problems being faced by Afghanistan, she added.

Dr Seema Samar has been living in Quetta for the past many years and working for women’s rights and healthcare projects.

She said she would reach Kabul before Dec 22.

Earlier, on her arrival from Karachi, she was given a hearty welcome by the Hazara community and brought to her residence in a motorcade.

Thousands of people, including women and schoolchildren, had gathered outside her residence who shouted slogans in her favour.