Amid Afghanistan’s deteriorating humanitarian crisis, a Taliban delegation led by acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi began three days of discussions with Western government officials and Afghan civil society groups in Oslo in Norway on Sunday. The Taliban delegation was invited by the Norwegian govt to hold talks on various issues.

The Norwegian Foreign Ministry said on Friday that it has invited representatives of the Taliban to Oslo for a visit from January 23 to 25. However, the govt clarified that it does not imply recognition of the Taliban govt in Afghanistan. The Minister of Foreign Affairs Anniken Huitfeldt said, “It does not in any way imply any recognition of the coup that took place. We will make strong demands on the Taliban, but we do not know if they will implement them afterward.”

According to the Norwegian Foreign Ministry, “the Taliban will meet representatives of Norwegian authorities and officials from several Ally nations” for dialogue on the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan and human rights. The ministry did not confirm who would be there, but Norwegian daily VG said that Britain, the European Union, France, Germany, Italy, and the United States would be among the allies.

Reportedly, discussions on girls’ education and women’s rights will be top of the agenda in the discussions. Taliban has greatly curtailed the rights of women in Afghanistan, and the Norwegian govt will demand to restore them.

Taliban government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid has said they are making moves to meet the requests of western nations. He said, “The Islamic Emirate has taken steps to meet the demands of the Western world and we hope to strengthen our relations through diplomatic ways with all countries, including the European countries and the West in general, and to transform the atmosphere of war, which we had previously, into a peaceful situation.”

The Taliban delegation arrived in Oslo on a private jet reportedly paid for by the govt of Norway. They were also joined by Anas Haqqani, the leader of the Sunni Islamist terrorist organization Haqqani Network. However, citizens in Osolo protested against the visit and questioned why their govt invited an organization that is blacklisted by the USA.

Following a stalemate on the battlefront, the Taliban reclaimed control of Afghanistan in August as the US and foreign troops initiated their final departure from the country. The trip marks the first time that Taliban leaders are meeting other governments in Europe since the group took control of the nation in August. They had already visited Russia, Iran, Qatar, Pakistan, China, and Turkmenistan.

The humanitarian situation in Afghanistan has deteriorated considerably since August. International assistance has come to a halt, and the US has blocked the Afghan central bank’s assets worth $9.5 billion (£7 billion). Muttaqi is anticipated to emphasize the Taliban’s demand that the US and other Western countries release the frozen funds during the talks.

According to a statement released by the US State Department, a US delegation led by Special Representative for Afghanistan Tom West will discuss the formation of a representative political system, responses to urgent humanitarian and economic crises, security and counterterrorism concerns, and human rights, particularly education for girls and women.

According to the United Nations, starvation presently scares 23 million Afghans or 55 percent of the population, and the government needs $4.4 billion from donor countries this year to solve the food crisis.

”We are extremely concerned about the serious situation in Afghanistan,” Huitfeldt said, noting that economic and political conditions have created “a full-scale humanitarian catastrophe for millions of people” facing starvation in the country.

The acting foreign minister in the Taliban government, Amir Khan Muttaqi, will lead the Taliban delegation to Norway. The trip would be the first time since the Taliban took over the country in August that their representatives have held official meetings in Europe. They have previously travelled to Russia, Iran, Qatar, Pakistan, China, and Turkmenistan.

Zabihullah Mujahid, the Afghan deputy culture and information minister, said Muttaqi expects to hold separate meetings with the US delegation and bilateral talks with European representatives.

The rights of women and girls in Afghanistan are likely to feature prominently in the talks, along with the West’s recurring demand for the Taliban administration to share power with Afghanistan’s minority ethnic and religious groups.

Deputy culture minister Mujahid told The Associated Press news agency on Saturday that the new Afghan rulers aimed to have schools open for girls and women in late March, after the Afghan new year. References:

Education for girls currently is restricted beyond the seventh grade in all but 10 provinces. In the capital, Kabul, private universities and high schools have continued to operate uninterrupted. Most are small, and the classes have always been segregated.

The Norwegian foreign ministry said the Taliban delegation’s meetings with Afghans in Norway would include “women leaders, journalists and people who work with, among other things, human rights and humanitarian, economic, social and political issues.”

Muttaqi is certain to press the Taliban’s demand that nearly $10bn frozen by the United States and other western countries be released.

Earlier this week, a Norwegian delegation visited Kabul for talks on the precarious humanitarian situation in the country, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Friday.

The foreign ministry in Oslo said that Afghanistan is experiencing drought, pandemics, economic collapse, and the effects of years of conflict.

According to them, some 24 million people experience acute food insecurity and are unsure of how to obtain enough food. It is reported that one million children may die of starvation.

It added that the UN estimates that famine will affect more than half of the population this winter and that 97 percent of the population may fall below the poverty line this year.

The announcement of the talks come days after the Taliban stormed an apartment in Kabul and arrested a female rights activist and her three sisters, AP reported, citing a witness.

A Taliban statement appeared to blame the incident on a recent women’s protest, saying insulting Afghan values will no longer be tolerated.

Meanwhile, Amnesty International on Friday urged the Taliban authorities to investigate the abduction of Alia Azizi, a female prison official who has been missing for more than three months.

“It’s been more than three months since Alia Azizi disappeared and her family still remains completely in the dark about her whereabouts. Her apparent abduction takes place within the context of the Taliban illegally detaining members of the former government, journalists, and assorted critics across the country,” said Zaman Sultani, Amnesty International’s South Asia researcher.

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opindia.com - OpIndia Staff