Former UK Defence Committee chairman Tobias Ellwood has called for engagement with the Taliban, warning that continued isolation of Afghanistan will only benefit groups such as Islamic State and expand China’s influence.
He argued that criticising the Taliban’s policies on women and girls from afar has had no impact.
The right-wing British politician, who three years ago said Afghanistan was better off under Taliban rule, wrote in an article for The Telegraph that continued isolation of Afghanistan does not serve Britain's national interests.
Ellwood argued that condemning the Taliban leadership’s decrees against women and girls from a distance has failed to influence the group's policies, and said Britain should pursue active diplomacy to prevent larger crises.
The former British Army officer said that after 20 years of military involvement, billions of dollars in spending and the deaths of 457 British service personnel, the campaign ended in failure and the Taliban returned to power.
Ellwood said severe poverty, the lack of employment opportunities and widespread despair among Afghanistan’s population of around 40 million have created conditions that could strengthen recruitment by Islamic State Khorasan (ISIS-K) and fuel increased migration to Europe.
The former chairman of the UK Parliament’s Defence Committee warned that ignoring Afghanistan would pave the way for deeper Chinese influence, arguing that Beijing is steadily expanding its access to the country’s vast mineral resources. Referring to the example of the late US Senator John McCain’s efforts to encourage American engagement with Vietnam after years of war, Ellwood said diplomacy does not amount to recognising or endorsing the Taliban but is instead a means of shaping the future.
Writing in The Telegraph, Ellwood said there are differing voices within the Taliban administration. While hardliners close to Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada appear content with Afghanistan’s isolation, others within government ministries recognise that international engagement is essential to revive the economy.
He argued that the West’s current policy towards Kabul is neither morally effective nor realistic, and called on Britain to reopen its embassy in Kabul.
Ellwood resigned as chairman of the Defence Committee in 2023 after making controversial remarks praising the Taliban.
At the time, he said Afghanistan was in a better position under Taliban rule than during the former republic and had achieved a degree of stability.
Ellwood’s latest call for engagement comes as the 2026 report by the Dutch Children’s Rights Foundation ranked Afghanistan last out of 194 countries for children’s rights, citing policies imposed by the Taliban administration.
