Taliban criticize decision to deny UN seat for now

Kabul, Dec 2 (EFE).- The Taliban Thursday criticized a United Nations panel’s decision to not allow the new Afghan government into the world body for now, in a severe setback to their efforts for international recognition and access to aid funds.

The Credentials Committee of the UN General Assembly that approves the diplomatic representation of each member state Wednesday deferred its decision on replacing the Afghan envoy with a Taliban representative on a seat at the global high table.

“This decision is not based on legal rules and justice because they have deprived the people of Afghanistan of their legitimate right,” Taliban spokesperson Suhail Shaheen tweeted.

Shaheen, based in Doha, Qatar, was the Taliban choice of UN ambassador for Afghanistan.

The Islamist movement had nominated him in September to replace Ghulam Isaczai, who was appointed by the now-ousted government of Ashraf Ghani, who has so far retained his post.

“We hope that this right is handed over to the representative of the government of Afghanistan in the near future so that we can be in a position to resolve issues of the people of Afghanistan effectively and efficiently and maintain positive interaction with the world,” said Shaheen.

Shaheen has been stationed as a member of the Taliban’s political office in Doha for the past decade.

The deferral means that the Taliban would not be able to get the seat for the duration of the current session, that is, until September 2022.

However, the General Assembly has to endorse the decision of the nine-member UN credentials committee.

The General Assembly, normally, does not rule out the decisions made by the powerful panel that includes the United States, China, and Russia.

The Taliban in its application for recognition during the annual session of the General Assembly had claimed that they had the right to represent Afghanistan because they control the country and that there was a power vacuum left by the Ghani government that fled Kabul.

The UN legitimacy is one of the crucial diplomatic endeavors of the Taliban.

So far, no country has recognized the Islamist movement as the legitimate Afghan government, not even Pakistan and China that have maintained contact with the regime.

The reluctance stems from the Taliban’s failure to comply with various conditions like forming an inclusive government and respect for the rights of minorities and women.

The Taliban also consider that the global recognition could pave the way for the American government to unfreeze Afghanistan’s financial assets worth $10 billion currently held by the US Federal Reserve. EFE

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