Afghan Taliban want to address General Assembly

Gulf Today Report

The Taliban's new foreign minister has asked to address world leaders at this week's United Nations General Assembly meeting in New York, the UN spokesman said.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres received a letter from Taliban-appointed Amir Khan Muttaqi "requesting to participate" in the high-level debate, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.

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It was dated Monday September 20 — the day before the session got underway —and listed Muttaqi as "Minister of Foreign Affairs," he added.

The Taliban, the country's new rulers for a matter of weeks, are challenging the credentials of their country's former UN ambassador and want to speak at the General Assembly’s high-level meeting of world leaders this week, the international body says.

Mohammad Suhail Shaheen, a spokesman for the Taliban during peace negotiations in Qatar, said the Taliban said it was nominating a new UN permanent representative.

Mohammad Suhail Shaheen speaks to the media. File photo

The Taliban stunned the world by taking territory with surprising speed and little resistance from the US-trained Afghan military. The Western-backed government collapsed on Aug. 15.

The ambassador of the Afghan government ousted by the Taliban last month has also requested to speak, with the UN yet to decide who will represent the country at the world body.

According to the UN spokesman, a nine-member credentials committee will now rule on the dueling requests but it is unclear whether the committee will meet before the end of the convocation on Monday.

The flag of the United Nations. File photo

It was dated Monday September 20 — the day before the session got underway — and listed Muttaqi as "Minister of Foreign Affairs," he added.

The letter did not specify whether Muttaqi wanted to travel to New York to speak or whether the Taliban would submit a recorded video message, as many leaders are doing this year due to Covid-19.

The letter also indicated that Ghulam Isaczai "no longer represents" Afghanistan at the United Nations.

He was the ambassador to the UN of the Afghan government ousted from power in August as US military troops exited the country, ending their 20-year war.