By Ahmad Samin Azad
When the Taliban first emerged in 1994, their goal was to establish a strict Islamic authority throughout Afghanistan. Afghan and American officials estimated in 2018 that the Taliban had 60,000 militants. It is because of these numbers that the Taliban has been successful in reclaiming and holding territory. It is no secret that the Taliban are fighting to drive NATO forces out of Afghanistan and overthrow its democratically elected government. The Taliban took advantage of a void left by the withdrawal of Western troops and the subsequent loss of government authority in the nation.
After a two-decade conflict, international forces aligned with the United States withdrew from Afghanistan, allowing the Taliban to gain power. Two decades after a US-led war to remove the Taliban from power following the September 11 attacks, events culminated on August 15 with the seizure of Kabul, the country’s capital. According to the United Nations, Afghanistan is experiencing its second four-year drought, and more than 18 million people – over half of the country’s population – require humanitarian aid to get by.
Last week, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres stated that Afghanistan is “on the edge of a grave humanitarian crisis” and has opted to engage with the Taliban to help the country’s people. While the Obama administration has labeled the Taliban a “terrorist” organization, U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration has declared it will allow humanitarian operations to continue in Afghanistan.
As a result of the sanctions, the Taliban’s assets in the United States are frozen, and Americans are prohibited from doing business with the organization. After the announcement, international organizations and non-governmental organizations will pay taxes, fees, import tariffs, or licenses to deliver help to the people of Afghanistan. According to a Treasury spokeswoman, the permissions allow non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and foreign financial institutions (FFIs) to provide.
When the Taliban ruled Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001, the U.N. refused to recognize its authority. An alternative government-in-exile, led by assassinated Afghan President Burhanuddin Rabbani, was granted a seat at the U.N. The “Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,” which the Taliban announced last month, sent a letter signed by Amir Khan Muttaqi, the country’s “Minister of Foreign Affairs,” to U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday.
For this year’s U.N. General Assembly (UNGA), the Taliban sent a formal request to attend and inform the world body that it had nominated its Doha-based spokesperson Suhail Shaheen to serve as the country’s new ambassador to the U.N. However, several other contenders represented Afghanistan at the annual meeting of member nations, including the Taliban. An email from Afghanistan’s current accredited ambassador to the United Nations, Ghulam Isaczai, had reached Guterres a few days before, according to U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric. Former Afghan President Ashraf Ghani was “ousted” from office on August 15, and according to Muttaqi’s letter, Isaczai no longer represents Afghanistan. Who can speak for Afghanistan currently rests with the U.N. General Assembly’s nine-member credentialing panel of representatives from the United States, Russia, and China. If they find it valid, the committee must submit its findings and recommendations back to the General Assembly for consideration and approval or rejection.
The U.N. does not recognize governments in any official capacity. The authorized representatives of the member states are recognized instead. Since the committee is unlikely to meet before the end of the UNGA, it is doubtful that the Taliban would have a chance to speak.
Di Maio said the Taliban government in Afghanistan could not be accepted; still, he noted Afghans should begin receiving the financial support, which was halted after the armed organization took power last month. When the country’s economy collapsed, millions of people fled. He pleaded with foreign governments to do the same.
According to Di Maio, recognizing the Taliban administration is untenable because a terrorist organization leads it with 17 ministers who routinely abuse women’s and girls’ human rights. Afghanistan must not implode, and there must be no unrestricted migration that might destabilize neighboring countries,” said Di Maio, who headed the G20 foreign ministers’ conference in New York last week. Providing financial support without directly funding the Taliban can be accomplished in several ways. We also agreed that humanitarian help must always include funds for the protection of women and girls.
On five sides, Afghanistan is bordered by Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, China, Iran, and Pakistan. For Pakistan, the Taliban takeover in Kabul creates a new strategic issue because of their shared border.
When international leaders convened in New York, the United Nations General Assembly’s 76th session was dominated by Afghan issues. Russia’s foreign minister said that its four significant allies are working to ensure that Afghanistan’s new Taliban leaders maintain their commitments, including forming a truly representative government and preventing violence from spreading.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said the four countries are in regular touch. Russian, Chinese, and Pakistani officials recently traveled to Qatar and then to Kabul, Afghanistan’s capital, to meet with Taliban and “secular authorities,” including former President Hamid Karzai and Abdullah Abdullah, the head of the Taliban’s negotiating council under the deposed government, he claimed.
The Taliban had promised an inclusive government, a more moderate form of Islamic rule than when they last ruled the country from 1996 to 2001, including the respect of women’s rights, providing stability after 20 years of war, fighting “terrorism and extremism,” and stopping armed groups from using their territory to launch attacks. On the other hand, recent events imply that the armed group is returning to more oppressive measures, notably women and girls.
Following their seizure of power in Afghanistan last month, the Taliban have attempted to portray a more reformed image by promising to respect human rights, particularly the rights of women and children. Human rights organizations, on the other hand, claim that the Taliban have not altered their tactics. A coalition of human rights organizations, led by Amnesty International, claimed this group was “steadily eroding” human rights advances made over the last two decades.
Certain export and re-export transactions are authorized, such as those connected to food, medicine, and other commodities. Taliban commanders continue to be under heavy sanctions and have considerable constraints on their access to the international banking system because of this, according to a State Department spokesperson.
To avoid further aggravating Afghanistan’s humanitarian catastrophe, the United States has made it easier for aid to reach the economically crippled country. The U.S. Treasury Department announced that it had issued two general licenses, one allowing the U.S. government, non-governmental organizations, and specific international organizations, including the United Nations, to engage in sanctions-related transactions with the Taliban and Haqqani Network to provide aid.