Taliban FM to be ‘chief guest’ in Russia-hosted Afghanistan talks

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Muttaqi

By Ayaz Gul
VOA News
October 3, 2024

Islamabad, Pakistan — Russia is set to convene a meeting of regional countries on Friday to discuss, among other issues, the expansion of “practical interaction” with Taliban-governed Afghanistan in political, economic, counterterrorism and counternarcotics areas.

Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi will participate as the “chief guest” in what will be the sixth round of the “Moscow Format” of consultations on Afghanistan, reported Maria Zakharova, the Russian foreign ministry spokesperson, on the eve of the gathering.

Russia launched the Moscow Format in 2017, and it has since become a regular platform for discussion of challenges facing impoverished, war-torn Afghanistan.

Zakharova told reporters in the Russian capital on Wednesday that special representatives and senior officials from China, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan will attend the gathering.

She said Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will preside over the closed-door meeting, and that “the main focus of the discussions” would be advancing the Afghan national reconciliation process.

Zakharova also said, without elaborating, that Lavrov plans to hold bilateral talks separately with Muttaqi and his team on key areas of collaboration between Moscow and Kabul.

Muttaqi’s office in Kabul reported separately that he is scheduled to meet Lavrov on the sidelines of the Moscow Format gathering.

Moscow has established close informal ties with the Taliban since the former insurgents regained control of Afghanistan three years ago, following the withdrawal of U.S.-led coalition troops after almost two decades of war.

Russia, however, has not recognized the Taliban as a legitimate government, in line with international consensus on the issue.

But the Russian foreign and justice ministries submitted a proposal to President Vladimir Putin in June to remove the Taliban from Russia’s list of designated terrorist organizations.

Taliban officials confirmed last week that they had formally sought to join the coming Russia-led summit of the BRICS intergovernmental group of major emerging economies. There has been no public response from Moscow.

The Taliban said that Afghanistan is a developing country and needs to attend forums like BRICS to help improve the national economy.

The leaders of the 10-nation BRICS, whose original members were Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, are set to convene October 22-24 in the southwestern Russian city of Kazan.

The U.S. remains opposed to any step toward easing sanctions or moving toward recognition of the Taliban as Afghanistan’s rightful government.

“We have been very clear that we judge the Taliban by what they do, not by what they say,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said last week while responding to the de facto Afghan government’s bid to attend BRICS.

She reiterated that the Taliban would need to improve its human rights record to win international legitimacy and be removed from sanctions lists so they can rejuvenate the Afghan economy.

“Afghanistan cannot strengthen its economy unless women are able to participate in all aspects of society without limitations,” stated Jean-Pierre. “So, we will continue to engage with the Taliban on matters of our interest — for example, on respect for the rights of women and girls and the return of wrongfully detained U.S. citizens — and that’s how we’re going to move forward with them.”

Stanikzai Threatens Islamabad To Close Central Asia Route For Pakistani Goods

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Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai

Afghanistan International: Abbas Stanikzai, the Taliban’s deputy foreign minister, expressed concern regarding the problems in exporting Afghan traders’ products and threatened Pakistan that it will close the Central Asian route for Pakistani goods. Stanikzai said at a meeting in Logar province on Wednesday that they face problems at the borders when Afghanistan’s crops come to fruition. Click here to read more (external link).

Top US General Milley calls Afghanistan withdrawal a ‘Strategic Failure’

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Mark Milley

Khaama: The former Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army acknowledged the mistakes made during the withdrawal from Afghanistan, admitting that political and strategic failures marked it. Mark Milley stated that the 20 years spent by the U.S. and its allies in Afghanistan were a valuable opportunity, but in the end, the Taliban took control of the country. He pointed out flaws in the Doha agreement and noted that the U.S. forces’ lack of proficiency in local languages was another significant weakness, which the Taliban exploited in rural areas. He said, “The U.S. didn’t fully understand what was happening on the ground.” Click here to read more (external link).

Other US-Afghanistan News

US special envoy for Taliban-ruled Afghanistan moved to different role

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Ayaz Gul
VOA News
October 2, 2024

ISLAMABAD — The United States has reassigned its special representative for Afghanistan, leaving vacant a key position in its efforts to engage with the Taliban-ruled country.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced the decision Tuesday to reassign Tom West, while emphasizing that Washington’s commitment to the South Asian nation “remains an enduring priority.”

Blinken said West would serve in a new role as the acting head of the Office of Sanctions Coordination at the U.S. State Department and commended him for working “tirelessly to ensure [that] both our national interests and the welfare of the Afghan people guided our policy in Afghanistan.”

West was appointed as the special representative to Afghanistan in October 2021, two months after the Taliban regained power and all U.S.-led NATO troops withdrew from the country, ending 20 years of involvement in the war.

“Tom has skillfully led diplomacy on Afghanistan during a complex period,” Blinken said. “Today’s global challenges are equally as complex, and I look forward to working with him on coordinating economic sanctions strategies across the U.S. government with our partners and stakeholders to achieve U.S. foreign policy priorities,” he said without elaborating.

The Taliban takeover compelled Washington and other Western capitals to relocate their diplomatic missions from Kabul to Doha, Qatar, where Karen Decker serves as the chief of the U.S. Embassy. Blinken said Decker has been asked to lead Afghan diplomacy.

The de facto Afghan leaders have imposed their strict interpretation of Islamic law, known as Shariah, banning girls’ education beyond the sixth grade, prohibiting women from most workplaces and access to public life at large across the impoverished country.

Taliban leaders reject international criticism and calls for reversing bans on Afghan women’s rights to work and education as interference in the country’s internal matters.

Blinken said that Rina Amiri, the U.S. special envoy for Afghan women’s and girls’ rights, would continue to lead her mission to ensure that “human rights, and particularly women’s rights, are prioritized.”

Asif Durrani, who served as Pakistan’s special representative to Afghanistan until last month, said that many countries, including the U.S., are frustrated with the Taliban due to their treatment of women and their lack of an inclusive government in Kabul.

“Issues such as inclusivity or human rights, particularly girls’ right to education and women’s right to work, are issues that the American administration cannot afford to overlook and engage the Taliban in a meaningful way,” Durrani said.

But he suggested the wars in Ukraine and Gaza have diverted Washington’s attention from the Afghan situation.

“It’s quite obvious that Afghanistan is not on the United States’ priority list, at least for the time being,” Durrani said.

State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller rejected that view when asked by reporters Tuesday whether Afghanistan is still a U.S. foreign policy priority.

“Of course it is,” he said. “And we will continue to stay engaged in Afghanistan. It remains an enduring priority.”

Durrani said the U.S. cannot be blamed alone for the lack of improvement in Afghanistan. “The Taliban’s rigid attitude towards women’s education and their ban on women’s work is not winning them any friends or sympathy.”

No country has officially recognized the men-only Taliban government in Kabul, mainly due to human rights issues and their sweeping restrictions on women’s freedoms.

The United States and allied nations have imposed financial and banking sector sanctions on Afghanistan since the Taliban takeover. Donors have cut economic development assistance, citing terrorism-related sanctions on several key leaders of the de facto government.

State Department Bureau Chief Nike Ching contributed to this report.

Afghan athlete under police protection slams gender apartheid as ‘crime against humanity’

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FRANCE 24 spoke to Marzieh Hamidi, a former taekwondo champion for Afghanistan who has been a refugee in France since 2021, when the Taliban returned to power. In late August of this year, she posted a video on social media denouncing “gender apartheid” in her home country. Since early September, when she began receiving death threats, she has been under police protection.

Marco Polo Sheep population declining in Badakhshan, Afghanistan

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Khaama: Officials from the Department of Agriculture, Irrigation, and Livestock of Badakhshan province have reported a decline in the population of the Marco Polo sheep and the Ibex, based on a survey conducted in the country’s second national park. This survey highlights the risk of these species facing a significant population decrease. The Marco Polo sheep is considered one of the rarest animals globally, and its presence in the Pamir region of Wakhan, Badakhshan, has historically attracted international tourists. Click here to read more (external link).

Taliban Tourism ‘Distorting The Truth’ In Afghanistan

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By Abubakar Siddique and Frishta Sahak
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
October 1, 2024

The Taliban’s repressive policies and widespread rights abuses have made its unrecognized government in Afghanistan a global pariah.

To boost its international image, the hard-line Islamist group has tried to woo foreign tourists to the country, where violence has significantly dropped since the Taliban seized power in 2021.

But even as the Taliban looks to cash in on propaganda and financial benefits of foreign visitors, the groups’ widespread restrictions on the movement of Afghans, especially women, have stifled the growth of the local tourism industry.

“The Taliban promote tourism because it has a major propaganda advantage for its government,” said Sami Yousafzai, a veteran Afghan journalist and commentator who tracks the Taliban.

“The Taliban want to cash in on the interest in tourism to project a positive image of the country it rules,” he added.

The number of tourists visiting Afghanistan has steadily increased in recent years. In 2021, there were 691. In 2022, that number increased to 2,300. Last year, there were 7,000, according to Taliban officials.

Foreign visitors have been drawn to the country’s ancient history and scenic landscape. Chinese tourists make up the largest group of visitors. Major airlines stopped flying to Afghanistan after 2021, but several have resumed flights.

Taliban officials have also been keen to stress that foreign tourism also provides a financial boost to Afghans, many of whom are struggling to survive mass unemployment and rising poverty.

But the burgeoning tourism industry in Afghanistan faces formidable challenges.

Visas are expensive and difficult to obtain. Many countries cut ties with Afghanistan after the Taliban takeover. No country in the world recognizes the Taliban regime. Many Afghan embassies, especially in the West, have shut or suspended their operations.

The Taliban is also selective in who it chooses to grant a visa. Foreign journalists and rights activists are barred from entering and working in the country.

Even with a visa, foreign tourists must obtain written permission from the Taliban to visit tourist spots and take photos or videos of their interactions with Afghans and Taliban fighters.

Safety is also still a concern. The Islamic State-Khorasan (IS-K) extremist group, a rival of the Taliban, killed six foreign and local tourists in the central city of Bamiyan in May.

IS-K militants have previously targeted foreigners and embassies in Afghanistan.

‘Dark And Bleak’

The Taliban has been keen to exploit the rosy picture of the country presented in videos and photos taken by foreign tourists, including YouTubers.

“The Taliban know these YouTubers are not interested in stirring controversies,” said Yousafzai. “So, they plan to send these YouTubers to places where they can do their ‘positive’ reporting.”

Many YouTube videos produced by foreign tourists show the Taliban in a positive light, portraying them as welcoming hosts. The videos also highlight the relative safety in the country and suggest that Afghans are happy under Taliban rule.

The Taliban, which is increasingly active on social media, often promotes the videos on various platforms.

The militant group has also made exceptions for female tourists to visit historical sites and national parks that are off-limits to Afghan women.

The Taliban has imposed severe restrictions on the appearances, behavior, and movement of women in what rights group have described as gender apartheid.

“This is dangerous and distorts the truth,” said Nazifa Haqpal, a British-based Afghan researcher.

“The truth under the Taliban’s cruel rule is dark, bleak, and ugly,” she said. “Unlike journalists, YouTubers are not bound by impartiality or professional ethics, which makes it easy for the Taliban to manipulate them.”

Some Afghan women said that foreign tourists are playing into the Taliban’s hands and whitewashing their suffering.

“Conditions for us are worsening with each passing day,” Arezo, a young woman in the central province of Bamiyan, told RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi.

Even as the Taliban tries to woo foreigners, the group’s restrictions have prevented the growth of local tourism.

Last year, the Taliban banned women from visiting Band-e Amir, a national park in Bamiyan. Consisting of crystal-blue lakes and soaring cliffs, it is one of the most popular tourist sites in the country.

The Taliban is “denying the most fundamental rights of Afghan women,” Arezo said.

“Unfortunately, Afghan women are banned from tourism and leisure by the Taliban,” Zala, a housewife in the capital, Kabul, told Radio Azadi.

“We are banned from enjoying the natural beauty and historic places of our ancient homeland,” she added.

In recent years, the militants have barred Afghan women from using gyms and visiting public bathhouses and city parks.

Copyright (c) 2024. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave NW, Ste 400, Washington DC 20036.