International community should engage with Taliban: Acting Deputy PM
May 16, 2023
Kabul [Afghanistan], May 16 : Taliban's Acting Deputy Prime Minister Mawlavi Mohammed Abdul Kabir has said the international community should engage with the Taliban. The remarks by Kabir came during his meeting with the United Nations' special representative for Afghanistan Roza Otunbayeva, according to Khaama Press.
Taliban-appointed Deputy Prime Minister Abdul Kabir and the Minister of Information and Culture of Taliban, Khairullah Khairkhwa on Monday met Roza Otunbayeva at the Sapedar Palace and discussed Afghanistan's issues.
During the visit, the senior Taliban officials asked UNs' special representative Roza Otunbayeva to invite Afghanistan's caretaker authorities to international meetings in the future.
They referred to the Doha conference held in Qatar's capital and hosted by the UN on May 1 and 2, in which representatives from at least 25 countries and international organizations participated, however, Taliban officials were not invited.
The Taliban following the summit, described the meeting as "one-sided and ineffective" to which the group was not invited.
The UN representative in Afghanistan highlighted the Doha conference during the meeting according to Taliban officials.
Taliban officials on Twitter said that Minister Khairkhwa appreciated the result of the Doha conference about the emphasis on the continued delivery of humanitarian aid to Afghanistan during these difficult times.
"Taliban representatives should be invited to international conferences held on Afghanistan issues in the future so that pathways for meaningful interaction and engagement are sought," Minister Khairkhwa said, according to Khaama Press.
Toward the end of the Doha conference, the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres announced that another summit will be held in Afghanistan in the near future.
