Taliban welcome neighboring countries’ call for increasing aid to Afghanistan

Kabul, Nov 17 (EFE).- The Taliban on Thursday welcomed the call of regional countries for increasing humanitarian and economic aid to Afghanistan instead of isolating it.

On Wednesday, the countries of the region held a meeting under the Moscow Format Consultations expressing their support for Afghanistan, while also underlining human rights violations in the country.

“The participants’ emphasis to intensify efforts for the provision of humanitarian and economic assistance to the Afghan people in the post-conflict reconstruction of the country is welcomed,” read a statement by the Taliban government’s foreign ministry.

The Moscow Format Consultations on Afghanistan were attended by representatives from Russia, China, Pakistan, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

The members stressed that Afghanistan should not be kept isolated like during the previous Taliban regime between 1996 and 2001.

The fundamentalists seized power in August last year, and so far the international community has not recognized their interim government.

However, the Forum also highlighted violations of women’s rights, including the ban on female secondary education and hurdles in getting access to work, as well as persecution of minorities in Afghanistan.

The previous meeting in this format, in the Russian capital in October 2021, was attended by a high-level delegation of the Taliban. EFE

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