Taliban Criticises SCO For Not Inviting Group To Its Heads of State Virtual Summit

Taliban has criticised the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) for not inviting the group to participate in the SCO heads of state virtual summit.

In a statement, the Taliban’s foreign ministry said that Afghanistan is an observer member of SCO and the absence of the group in the SCO virtual meeting "impedes coordination" with the organisation.

The 23rd summit of the SCO heads of state council was held on Tuesday. The leaders of the member states presented their views virtually in this meeting.

In a statement on Wednesday, the Taliban's foreign ministry called the absence of Afghanistan in such meetings an obstacle to comprehensive coordination to prevent instability and drug trafficking, support humanitarian assistance, implementation of infrastructural projects, and facilitate regional economic initiatives.

Members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in a joint declaration said that it essential to establish an inclusive government in Afghanistan with the participation of representatives of all ethnic, religious, and political groups.

The member states believed that one of the most important factors of preservation and strengthening of safety and stability within SCO region, is advocating to build Afghanistan as an independent, neutral, united, democratic, and peaceful state, free from terrorism, war, and drugs.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Taliban, however, emphasised that the group’s government “represents every language, generation, and ethnicity" of Afghanistan and added that the concerns of the member states about inclusive government could be addressed with an understanding of the ground realities.

The Taliban asked the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation to facilitate the participation of the group in the upcoming SCO meeting which is scheduled to be held in Kazakhstan.

Shanghai Cooperation Organisation had previously eight members and Iran was officially accepted as the ninth member of the organisation on Tuesday.