Taliban still a menace, sad about Banerjee: Manmohan Singh

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Saturday expressed deep sorrow over the killing of Indian author and activist Sushmita Banerjee in Sharan city and said that taliban remained a menace in Afghanistan.

"I was very sad when I heard about the attack on and killing of Sushmita Banerjee. It is a very sad development," prime minister said while speaking to journalists on his way back from St. Petersburg, Russia after attending the G20 Summit.

"She was engaged in important social work. So I feel very sad that such a noble person should have been the victim of the Taliban's wrath," he said.

The prime minister added that Afghanistan is still plagued with Taliban's menace and that the Afghans have to decide their country's approach towards women.

"The government and people of Afghanistan, ultimately, will have to make up their minds, whether the Taliban philosophy, particularly with regard to the role of women in society, is the theme which should decide their approach to life," prime minister added.

Banerjee, who defied her family to marry Khan and stayed for years with him in Afghanistan, in 1998 wrote the bestselling memoir "Kabuliwalar Bangali Bou" (A Kabuliwala's Bengali Wife) offering a vivid description of the suffering of women under the Taliban. She also described her daring escape from the clutches of militants.

The author, who recently moved back to Afghanistan to live with her husband, was dragged out of her home and shot dead by suspected Taliban gunmen in Sharan city of Afghanistan's Paktika province Wednesday night.