ISLAMABAD: The Afghan interim government has described the UN-sponsored meeting in Doha, Qatar, as a ‘failure’ and accused the UN of ‘initiating a new game’ in Afghanistan.
The comments came following the Afghan government’s boycott of the two-day conference which explored ways for increasing engagement with the Taliban rulers.
Special envoys from Pakistan, Iran, the U.S., the UK, Russia, China, the EU and several other countries attended the Feb.18-19 meeting.
It was the second UN conference. Taliban were not invited to the first meeting in Doha last year in May.
The Afghan Taliban state media ‘Al-Emarah’ accused the UN and international community of rejecting “genuine conditions” of the Islamic Emirate for attending the event.
“It is known from this crooked attitude of the United Nations that they are not truthful in their words and actions. Instead of taking into account the actual ground realities of Afghanistan, by organizing meetings without an agenda, they focus on minor issues instead of fundamental issues,” the hard-hitting Taliban article said.
“They (UN) want to distract the international public mind, to continue and protect the Western interests in Afghanistan and the region, mislead the world about the current peaceful situation of Afghanistan and to start a new game in our country,” it further said.
It says the UN has contradictions in actions and words. The article adds: “The UN and Western nations are the real characters of the Afghan problem and they cannot do anything to heal the wounds of the people of Afghanistan.
The Al-Emarah also condemned the UN for inviting such Afghan faces who “neither have any roots among Afghans nor have any importance among the political opponents of the Afghan government”.
The Afghan interim government had put two main conditions. One: The Afghan interim government should be invited as the only representative and second: They want separate comprehensive and detailed discussions with the UN Secretary General.
The UN Secretary-General António Guterres also mentioned the Taliban conditions when he spoke to the media on Monday.
In response to a correspondent’s question on the lack of participation of Taliban de facto authorities, the UN chief said that the group presented a set of conditions for its participation “that were not acceptable.”
“These conditions first of all denied us the right to talk to other representatives of the Afghan society and demanded a treatment that would, I would say, to a large extent be similar to recognition,” he said, according to the UN website.
It covered all the main areas of concern, Mr Guterres said, including ensuring Afghanistan does not become a “hotbed” of terrorist activity and that it has inclusive institutions in which all its diverse groups feel represented in a “truly inclusive” State.
Pakistani envoy holds meetings with delegates
Pakistan’s special representative for Afghanistan, Asif Khan Durrani, who led a Pakistani delegation at the meeting, held a series of meetings with delegates as well as the head of the political office of the Islamic Emirate in Doha.
Ambassador Durrani also briefly met the UN Secretary-General at the sidelines of the meeting.
Sources say the Pakistani side shared its concerns during the conference about the use of Afghan soil against Pakistan by the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and other groups. Afghan Taliban deny this.
Pakistani political leaders and security officials insist that the TTP has increased attacks in the country since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan in Aug 2021.
