UN holds crucial Afghanistan talks in Qatar, without Taliban

The talks will involve diplomatic envoys and aid donors as the UN plans to pressure the Taliban to ease restrictions on women.

Doha, Qatar – The Taliban have not been invited to a United Nations-hosted conference on Afghanistan in Doha, with the Afghan group that rules the South Asian country saying the two-day meeting would be “ineffective” without its participation.

Envoys from the United States, China and Russia, as well as major European aid donors and key neighbors such as Pakistan, are among the representatives of some 25 countries and groups called by UN Secretary-General Antonio for the two-day closed-door talks Guterres in the Qatari capital on Monday.

“Any meeting on Afghanistan without the participation of the Afghan government is ineffective and counterproductive,” Abdul Qahar Balkhi, spokesman for the Taliban foreign ministry, told Al Jazeera.

Last week, the UN chief said the de facto Afghan rulers would not be invited to the meeting to discuss the dire humanitarian situation in the country and its international isolation. A UN source told Al Jazeera on Monday that Taliban recognition is not on the agenda.

His statement came after members of the Afghan diaspora and some Western countries expressed concern over the possible recognition of the government of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, as the Taliban call the country, following a statement by UN Deputy Secretary-General , Amina. Mohammed.

In an open letter on Sunday, a coalition of Afghan women’s groups said they were “outraged” that any country would consider formal ties because of the government’s track record of saying its handling of women’s rights is “an internal social issue.”

“The cruel treatment of women and girls by the Taliban is unacceptable. We must not forget the progress we have made over the years and we must continue to fight for women’s rights in Afghanistan,” Fawzia Koofi, a prominent Afghan politician, recently tweeted.

The Taliban has been criticized for its increasing crackdown on women, including a ban on education and work.

Mohammed suggested on April 24 that the Doha meeting “could find those baby steps to get us back on the road to recognition” [of the Taliban].

The UN said the comments were misinterpreted. No country has recognized the Taliban government, which has struggled to cope with the humanitarian and economic crisis.

Zalmay Khalilzad, the former US envoy to Afghanistan, told Al Jazeera that the UN chief decided not to invite the Taliban “because of opposition from Western countries”.

Khalilzad, who signed the 2020 Doha Agreement with the Taliban, hoped the meeting would provide a realistic roadmap for international engagement in Afghanistan.

The Doha Agreement resulted in the US withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021 after 20 years of occupation, leading to the collapse of the Western-backed government.

The Taliban were accused of violating the Doha Agreement after the military takeover of the country, but the group has defended its move. It says the international sanctions and isolation are against the spirit of the Doha Agreement, while keeping its promise not to allow Afghanistan to become a haven for armed groups such as ISIL (ISIS).

Ahead of the meeting in Doha, the UN chief’s office said the meeting “is aimed at developing a common understanding within the international community on how to deal with the Taliban” on women’s and girls’ rights, including governance, counter-terrorism and drug trafficking.

An unnamed European diplomat told Al Jazeera he did not expect anything to come out of the meeting, while an Asian diplomat, who wishes to remain anonymous, said any outside effort to prioritize Afghanistan will always be pushed back .

The UN Security Council on Thursday condemned restrictions on Afghan women. The UN, working with the Taliban, provides food aid to millions of Afghans. The UN deputy chief traveled to Kabul in January to meet with Taliban leaders to put pressure on the women’s rights and education group.

The meeting in Doha is crucial to the international community’s involvement in Afghanistan.

It comes as the UN is expected to review its critical aid operation in Afghanistan in the wake of Afghan women no longer being allowed to work with the global agency.

The UN has said it faces a “terrible choice” to continue its massive operation in the country of 38 million. The investigation will be completed on Friday.