Afghan Taliban asked to honour commitments in Oslo moot

De facto rulers were asked to form inclusive govt, eradicate terrorist sanctuaries and lift ban on girls' education

ISLAMABAD:

Key stakeholders including Pakistan at a closed-door meeting held in Oslo, Norway have asked the interim Afghan Taliban government to fulfil commitments made with the international community.

Hosted by Norway, the three-day meeting held from June 13 to June 15 brought together envoys from UN, Pakistan, Qatar, US, UK, India and others to discuss the Afghan situation. Ambassador Asif Ali Durrani, special representative on Afghanistan, represented Pakistan at the meeting.

The second-tier Afghan Taliban delegation was also in attendance despite protest by civil society activists and opposition parties.

Sources familiar with the meeting told The Express Tribune on Thursday that the purpose of the conference was to discuss the current situation in Afghanistan and press the Taliban administration to live up to their promises.

Sources said participants of the meeting were unanimous in urging the Afghan Taliban to form an inclusive government, eradicate terrorist sanctuaries and lift ban on girls' education.

The Afghan Taliban after taking over power in August 2021 initially had agreed to honour commitments made with the world including on girls education. However, later the hardline government retracted from its commitment and completely banned girls' education.

The Taliban move diminished any chances of recognition of the Kabul administration.

However, the meeting in Norway was seen as part of renewed push to re-engage with the de facto rulers of Afghanistan.

Also read: Taliban officials attend peace forum in Norway

Norway also hosted Afghan stakeholders in January last year. At the time Afghan Interim Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi attended the conference. This year, however, the Afghan Taliban participation was downgraded apparently because of concerns expressed by the civil society activists.

Unlike the past, Pakistan this time is pushing for international consensus before going solo on recognising the Taliban regime. When the Afghan Taliban first came to power, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and UAE were the only three countries that recognised their government.

The Afghan Taliban government has not only failed to meet the expectations of the international community but also has not been able to address Pakistan’s concerns on the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

Contrary to Pakistan’s expectations, the Afghan Taliban have been reluctant to take action against the TTP.

In order to find a way out, the Afghan Taliban have offered to relocate the TTP from border areas of Pakistan.

When asked, the spokesperson at a weekly news briefing here refused to confirm or deny reports that Kabul was willing to relocate TTP fighters from the Pakistan border to northern Afghanistan.

“I would not like to go into specifics on this particular issue. We are engaged with the Afghan interim government on the serious concerns that Pakistan has about the menace of terrorism. Our regular engagement is an ongoing process,” Mumtaz Zahra Blaoch told reporters.

“All aspects of countering this menace remain under discussion between the two sides. Besides it is not appropriate for us to make comments on any such media statements. We look forward to working closely with Afghan side to counter the terrorist threat,” she added.