KABUL - An influential US lawmaker has assailed The New York Times for carrying an opinion piece by Taliban’s deputy leader Sirajuddin Haqqani.
Haqqani’s article -- What We, the Taliban, Want -- appeared in the newspaper on Thursday. The author commended the Taliban-US talks in Doha.
Rep. Liz Cheney, the No. 3 Republican in the House, ticked off the prestigious newspaper for what she called giving the terrorist movement a platform.
Liz Cheney took a swipe at the paper’s decision to publish the piece, asking whether Haqqani had been compensated for the article.
“I have some questions for @nytimes since they decided to give the Taliban a forum to spew garbage, like, 'we did not choose our war...We were forced to defend ourselves.”
She tweeted: “Remember 9/11?  2. The author is a designated global terrorist. Did you pay him for this piece?”
However, NYT defended the publication of the op-ed from Haqqani, who is part of Taliban’s team negotiating with the Americans in Qatar.
Eileen Murphy, senior vice president of communications at the publication, said: “Our mission at Times Opinion is to tackle big ideas from a range of newsworthy viewpoints.
“We’ve actively solicited voices from all sides of the Afghanistan conflict, the government, the Taliban and from citizens," Murphy added. (Pajhwok)