Taliban Seek To Attend U.N General Assembly

Taliban have made a request to address world leaders at the 76th United Nations General Assembly this week in New York City.

Gatekeepers News reports that the group, which seized control of Afghanistan in August, wants to participate in the high-level debate, a request that will be reviewed by a credentials committee, whose nine members include the United States, China and Russia.

Although, it is not likely that the committee will meet before the end of the General Assembly session next Monday.

Meanwhile, the Taliban have nominated their Doha-based spokesperson, Suhail Shaheen, as Afghanistan’s UN ambassador but under the UN rules, Ghulam Isaczai will remain Afghanistan’s ambassador to the global body.

Isaczai is expected to make a speech on the final day but the Taliban maintained that his mission “no longer represents Afghanistan”.

The Taliban are yet to be formally recognised by other governments as Afghanistan’s new government and if the UN agrees to its nominee for ambassador, it would be a major boost for the group towards international acceptance.

The Taliban also said that several countries no longer recognised former President Ashraf Ghani, who fled Afghanistan when the group’s militants took over the capital, Kabul, on 15 August. Ghani has since taken refuge in the United Arab Emirates.

Gatekeepers News reports that on Tuesday at the UN meeting, Qatar urged world leaders to stay engaged with the Taliban.

“Boycotting them would only lead to polarisation and reactions, whereas dialogue could be fruitful,” said Qatar’s ruler, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.

Qatar has become a key broker in Afghanistan. It hosted talks between the Taliban and US which culminated in a 2020 agreement to withdraw US-led Nato forces. It has also helped Afghans and foreign nationals to evacuate Afghanistan since the Taliban took over and facilitated recent intra-Afghan peace talks.