Taliban and UNAMA Discuss Reactivating Afghanistan's WTO Membership
Nuruddin Azizi, the Taliban's Minister of Commerce, met with Roza Otunbayeva, head of UNAMA, to discuss reactivating Afghanistan's membership in the World Trade Organization (WTO).
Nuruddin Azizi, the Taliban's Minister of Commerce, met with Roza Otunbayeva, head of UNAMA, to discuss reactivating Afghanistan's membership in the World Trade Organization (WTO).
Afghanistan, which officially joined the WTO in 2016, currently lacks representation within the organization due to the international community's non-recognition of the Taliban government.
Afghanistan holds the position of the 164th member of the WTO.
A press release from the Taliban's Ministry of Industry and Commerce on Wednesday reported that Azizi and Otunbayeva also discussed support for micro, small, and medium enterprises, boosting exports, and creating facilities for female entrepreneurs.
This marks the first instance of the Taliban expressing interest in reactivating Afghanistan’s membership in the WTO.
Andrey Rudenko, Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia, emphasised on Moscow's expectation that the Taliban should fulfil their commitments to the international community, including the formation of an inclusive government.
According to RIA Novosti, the Russian state news agency, Rudenko affirmed, "Our stance on Afghanistan remains unchanged."
He further clarified, "We do not link conditions together. We expect the Taliban to adhere to all the promises they have publicly made to the international community. However, we do not make this a precondition nor do we tie it to their actions."
The report released on Thursday quotes Rudenko as acknowledging, "The Taliban are a reality on the ground, and we must take this into account." He added that trade between Russia and Afghanistan will continue.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, speaking in Tashkent on Tuesday, highlighted the necessity of engaging with the Taliban. "How we manage relations with the current power [the Taliban] is another matter, but we must maintain some form of relationship," Putin stated.
He also mentioned ongoing consultations with regional partners, including Central Asian countries, concerning relations with the Taliban, stating, "We consider the opinions of each of our partners and friends and collectively shape our position."
The establishment of an inclusive government in Afghanistan is a significant demand from the international community, including Russia and its allies.
On the anniversary of the killings of two former senior police commanders by the Taliban, various anti-Taliban leaders highlighted the need to free Afghanistan from the group's “occupation”.
The leaders accused the Taliban of transforming Afghanistan into a nexus for fostering terrorism and exporting it internationally.
Ahmad Massoud, leader of the National Resistance Front, was among the Taliban's opponents who spoke at a virtual event to mark the thirteenth anniversary of the deaths of General Dawood Dawood and General Shah Jahan Noori, former commanders of the Afghan police.
Massoud described Afghanistan as engulfed in aggression and terror, stating that overcoming this situation demands active resistance.
He expressed that neither the West nor the East would assist the Afghan people, urging Afghans to unite and believe in their collective strength.
Mohammad Yunus Qanooni, former Vice-President, also addressed the meeting, noting that Afghanistan is under the grip of terrorism and that the Taliban's renewed control was the result of "internal conspiracy and a disgraceful international deal”.
He highlighted the issues of poverty, unemployment, targeted killings, discrimination, extremism, denial of education and employment to women, systematic human rights violations, and, crucially, Afghanistan's role as a terrorism hub. These, he stated, mar the country's history.
Qanooni commended the fortitude of Afghan women and girls, stating that liberation from occupation necessitates a concerted effort from all Afghan men and women.
General Sami Sadat, former commander of the Afghan army, commented that internal sabotage and conspiracy precipitated the fall of the prior government, and a "moral collapse" among the political class led to the breakdown of the republican system.
Sadat declared that the opposition possesses the capability to topple the Taliban regime.
General Dawood Dawood, the former police commander for northern Afghanistan, and Shah Jahan Noori, commander for Takhar, were killed on May 28, 2011, during a suicide bombing in Takhar province.
The Taliban had claimed responsibility for the attack.
The Afghanistan Freedom Front (AFF) announced on Wednesday that it targeted a Taliban convoy near the Barki traffic intersection in Kabul city.
The attack reportedly resulted in the deaths of three Taliban members and injuries to five others.
The group disclosed on the social media platform X that the convoy was associated with the Taliban's Ministry of Interior.
As of now, the Taliban has not issued any comments regarding the incident. However, several sources contacted by Afghanistan International reported hearing "the sound of a powerful explosion" in Kabul earlier that day, specifically in the Barki area.
Sources in Khost province told Afghanistan International that 73 members of the former "Khost Protection Force (KPF)," who were trained by the US intelligence, are currently imprisoned by the Taliban intelligence.
According to the sources, they had travelled from the United States to Khost to visit their families.
The sources confirmed to the Pashto section of Afghanistan International on Tuesday, that the Taliban have been holding these members of the so-called "Khost Protection Force" in prison for the past two years.
According to information received, these forces, who had gone to the United States for training, returned to Khost province after receiving their certifications.
The KPF was a group of local soldiers in Khost province, trained and equipped by the US intelligence agency, CIA. This organisation used them to fight the Taliban.
Families of some of the prisoners said that they are afraid to speak out due to fear of the Taliban.
Two residents of the Tani district of Khost, whose family members are imprisoned, said, "When these soldiers came from the United States to Khost, a few days later the Taliban intelligence agents arrested them in the district centre."
The families of these soldiers, who for security reasons refrain from revealing their names, say that members of this unit are being severely tortured in Taliban prisons.
According to sources, the Taliban members are interrogating these individuals because of their programmes and jobs in the United States.
Some families in Khost said that members of the KPF are being held at the Taliban intelligence headquarters in Khost, and the Taliban do not allow them to meet with their family members.
Some residents of Khost confirmed to Afghanistan International that Taliban intelligence officials in the Khost capital and districts have also threatened some families of the KPF members with death.
A source in Khost province said, "The KPF and their families have become a source of income for the Taliban. Taliban members demand dollars in exchange for not harming their families."
One former member of the KPF in the United States said that he is in talks with US officials to help secure the release of his former comrades from Taliban prison.
So far, neither the Taliban nor US officials have officially commented on this matter.
Reports indicate that the number of KPF members reached seven thousand. This unit was solely directed by the CIA, based in Khost, and operated independently of Afghan security institutions.
The Afghanistan Freedom Front (AFF) announced that on Tuesday evening, it attacked an outpost of the Taliban’s Ministry of Interior in the Karte Naw area of Kabul.
The AFF claims that a Taliban commander had been killed and three other Taliban members were injured in the attack.
According to the AFF’s statement, the Taliban commander was Fazluddin Osmani. A Taliban military vehicle was also destroyed in the attack.
The AFF has also released a video purportedly showing this attack.
The Taliban's Ministry of Interior has not yet commented on the incident.
