Rights Group Urges UN To Ensure Safety & Calls for Release of Imprisoned Afghan Girl

Along with the Taliban’s foreign minister, the Qatar special envoy met with the group’s Interior Minister and Director of the General Directorate of Intelligence in Kabul.

His visit to Kabul comes after the publication of an Italian TV’s report about Qatar's role in the fall of the previous government.

According to Qatar State News Agency, Qahtani emphasised on the right of women and girls to education and work and said that the people of Afghanistan should be granted access to all their rights.

Although the Taliban has said that the ban on women's education is temporary, representatives of foreign governments have continuously asked the group to reopen educational centers for girls and women.

The special representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Qatar has said that Doha "continues its efforts to facilitate the conditions for reaching a comprehensive political consensus so that security and stability prevail in Afghanistan”.

A statement from the Taliban’s foreign ministry has not given further details about the Taliban’s viewpoints during the meetings with the Qatari envoy.

Abdul Qahar Balkhi, the spokesperson of the Taliban’s foreign ministry, said on Twitter that political cooperation, improvement of relations, and humanitarian aid had been discussed during the meeting.

Taliban officials have repeatedly said that they have formed an inclusive government with representation from various provinces of Afghanistan.

After taking power in Afghanistan in late 2021, the Taliban has appointed commanders and mullahs associated with the group in senior government positions. The group has not yet invited any political party or figures from other Afghan sides to include in their government in Afghanistan.

Recently, the International Committee of the Red Cross warned that the severe cold weather in Afghanistan has put the lives of millions of people at risk.

ICRC also stressed that more humanitarian aid is needed to prevent the deterioration of the situation in Afghanistan. The Red Cross said that many people cannot afford to keep warm due to economic challenges.

This year, Afghanistan is experiencing the coldest winter in recent decades. In some provinces, the temperature has reached minus 30 degrees Celsius.

The Taliban officials have requested for humanitarian support from international organisations for the victims.

He also cited security problems as the reason for the process to be stopped.

He clarified that just as he had stopped sermons for a while during the COVID-19 quarantine time, “now we are facing another Corona”. He emphasised that "certainly Corona is very dangerous”.

Hekmatyar said that for this reason, we must take serious measures.

The leader of Hizb-e-Islami had been delivering a sermon every Friday at his residence in district six of Kabul.

Niklasson said that in a meeting with the Pakistani officials, the parties agreed on the need for cooperation between the region and the international community for the benefit of the Afghan people.

The EU special envoy stressed on Friday that during his three days in Pakistan, he discussed with the country's officials about the consequences of the Taliban's policy on the ban of women from work.

The EU envoy also said that in these meetings, the need for inclusive government and protection of the rights and freedoms of Afghan citizens was emphasised.

Niklasson stated that the Taliban's decision to ban women from work, will harm needy women and children in Afghanistan at the worst possible time.

Besides these, Thomas Niklasson, referring to the recent deadly attack on a mosque in Peshawar, said that this attack is a reminder of the terrorist threats against Afghanistan and its neighbouring countries.

The Russian diplomat said that Moscow’s invitation has been sent to the regional countries, but the exact date of the meeting has not been specified.

The meetings of Secretaries of the Security Council of regional countries regarding Afghanistan have been continuously held in the last few years.

The last meeting of these stakeholders had been held on May 27, 2022, in Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan.

In the meeting, the representatives of all countries emphasised that an inclusive government should be formed in Afghanistan.