Pakistan’s Imran Khan on the Taliban and Nawaz Sharif

In this week’s UpFront, we speak to Pakistani politician Imran Khan about accusations that he is too soft on the Taliban.

In the Reality Check, Mehdi Hasan explains why we need gender quotas in politics. And in a special interview, we ask Jeffrey Sachs, a leading economist and adviser to Bernie Sanders, if he plans to vote for Hillary Clinton in the US presidential election.

Headliner: Imran Khan calls Pakistan Taliban a ‘terrorist’ group

Pakistan’s Imran Khan has been described by some critics as “Taliban Khan” with claims he is too soft on the armed group. An accusation that Khan vehemently denies. The politician and former cricket star tells Mehdi Hasan in this week’s Headliner that it is “absolute nonsense” that he supports “extremism”.

When asked if he believes the Taliban is a “terrorist group”, Khan responds, “Yes, they are. Anyone who kills innocent people are terrorists.”

In a wide-ranging interview, we also speak to Khan about allegations that Darul Uloom Haqqania, a university his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party has funded, is a breeding ground for “extremism”. He denies this, and adds: “If it was a university for jihad, it should have been shut down.”

More from Mehdi Hasan’s interview with Imran Khan, in which they discuss women’s rights in Pakistan, will be available on July 30 at 19:30 GMT.

Reality Check – Hillary Clinton’s not enough: Politics needs more women

With Theresa May taking the prime minister’s office in the UK and Hillary Clinton now the first woman to be nominated by a major political party in a US presidential election, some are celebrating the fact women could possibly be leading two of the world’s most powerful countries.

A look at the larger picture, however, still presents a grim reality for gender equality in politics. Countries such as the US lag behind in the number of women leaders and politicians, while others, such as Rwanda and Argentina, are leading the way in gender parity with the help of quotas.

In this week’s Reality Check, Mehdi Hasan makes the case for why gender quotas are needed to make the world a better and safer place.

Jeffrey Sachs: ‘I’ll probably vote’ for Hillary Clinton

Hillary Clinton officially became the US Democratic nominee this week on the heels of a controversial start to the Democratic National Convention.

Leaked DNC emails confirmed suspicions that the party was biased against former Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders. Despite the controversy, the party presented a message of unity at its convention with Sanders calling on his disgruntled supporters to throw their support behind Clinton.

So as the campaign against Republican nominee Donald Trump heats up, will those who supported the Sanders campaign vote for Clinton to keep the billionaire businessman out of the White House?

In a special interview, we speak to Sanders’ adviser and leading economist Jeffrey Sachs.

Sachs says both Clinton and Trump are “dangerous” in their own ways, but he would “probably” vote for Clinton.

“I probably will, but if I do, it will be holding my nose,” the economist told Mehdi Hasan.

Sachs also comments on the rise of Donald Trump, saying he believes it is fuelled by “the same phenomenon that fuelled Brexit, the same phenomenon that is fuelling a lot of anti-immigrant, working-class parties all through Europe”.