ISLAMABAD: The Afghan Taliban has decided not to attend a conference on Afghanistan under the auspices of the United Nations in the Qatari capital of Doha.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will hold a two-day meeting today (Sunday) where member states and special envoys to Afghanistan will discuss cooperation with the Taliban.
In a statement issued on the X social media platform on Saturday evening, the Afghan Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the delegation would only attend if the Taliban were accepted as the sole official representative of Afghanistan.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has clarified to the U.N. that if the Islamic Emirate is to participate as the sole official representative of Afghanistan … then participation would be beneficial. Else, ineffectual participation by the Emirate due to non-progress in this area was deemed unbeneficial,” said the ministry.
The UN has invited Afghan civil society members, as well as groups opposed to the Taliban, to meet with special envoys for Afghanistan.
“There will be a meeting with the Taliban, but there will also be a meeting of envoys with civil society, including women’s groups, because it’s important that the voices of Afghan women be heard very loud and clear,” spokesperson for the UN secretary-general, Stephane Dujarric, said in the daily press briefing Friday. His remarks came prior to the Taliban’s refusal to attend the meeting.
The State Department expressed opposition to the inclusion of non-Taliban voices, saying that progress could be made in the talks “if the UN assesses the current reality, rejects the influence and pressure of several parties”.
The Doha conference is the second UN-led international dialogue on Afghanistan since the Taliban took control of the country in August 2021 following the end of a 20-year war with the US and its allies.
While the Taliban was not invited to the first global gathering in May 2023, the UN sought the group’s presence this time around.
Although the Taliban have controlled Afghanistan for more than two years, they have failed in their quest for official recognition. The UN has refused to grant the Afghanistan group a seat on the world body.
The international community is demanding recognition that the Taliban must form an inclusive government and lift the ban on women’s education and work.
A Taliban foreign ministry statement issued on Saturday rejected efforts to get the group to soften its stance.
“If repetition of failed 20-year experimentation is discarded, and a realistic and pragmatic approach is adopted over unilateral impositions, accusations and pressurization, then progress can also be made in bilateral relations with other parties.”
