The Taliban, which has taken power in Afghanistan, has asked the UN Secretary-General for permission to attend Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaki’s session of the UN General Assembly. They also appointed a new permanent representative of Afghanistan to the UN.
According to UN spokesman Stefan Dujarric, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres received a letter from Muttaki in which he introduced himself as “Foreign Minister of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.” In it, Muttaki asks to be allowed to attend the current session of the General Assembly, where he wants to deliver a speech.
According to Dujarric, Muttaki wrote that “former Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has been ousted” and that countries around the world “no longer recognize him as president.” As a result, the current permanent representative of Ghulam Isachay “no longer represents Afghanistan.”
The Taliban has appointed Afghanistan’s new UN envoy, Suhail Shagin, the current Doha envoy.
Dujarric announced that the Taliban’s application had been submitted to the Accreditation Committee. This committee includes, in particular, the United States, China and Russia.
Reuters notes that the committee meeting is unlikely to take place until next Monday, so Muttaki is unlikely to have time to address this session of the Assembly.
Guterres said the Taliban’s desire for international recognition was the only means of putting pressure on the Taliban to form a more representative government and uphold human rights, especially women’s rights.