After the Oslo talks, what is the next step for Afghanistan? | News
Kabul, Afghanistan/Islamabad, Pakistan – “de facto recognition of the Taliban government.
No foreign government has yet officially recognized the legitimacy of the Taliban’s rule over Afghanistan, which the group calls the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA), although several world powers have engaged with the government at different levels. .
The Oslo talks were the first official trip by acting Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi and his delegation to Europe since the Afghan Taliban captured Kabul and took control of Afghanistan in mid-August. .
Following the January 24 talks, diplomats from the United States and Europe said they told Afghan Taliban officials that humanitarian aid would be tied to an improvement in the human rights situation in the country, which international rights groups and Afghan activists say has since worsened significantly. the Taliban have taken over.
“[Participants] urged the Taliban to do more to stop the alarming increase in human rights violations, including arbitrary detentions, … enforced disappearances, media repression, extrajudicial executions, torture and the banning of education, employment and freedom to travel without a male escort for women and girls,” said a joint US-EU statement released after the talks.
The talks also recognized “the urgency of resolving the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan and highlighted the steps needed to help alleviate the suffering of Afghans across the country,” the statement said.
On Wednesday, UN chief Antonio Guterres said Afghanistan was ‘hanging by a thread’ as the economy came to a halt following the Taliban takeover and international sanctions that followed, including the freezing of more than $9 billion in Afghan central bank assets.
He also urged the Taliban “to recognize and protect the basic human rights that every person shares.”
A matter of recognition
A Taliban official hailed the talks as “a gigantic achievement”.
“Without a doubt, the Oslo talks were a gigantic achievement for the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,” said Shafi Azam, an official in the Afghan Taliban government’s foreign ministry.
“It was a fruitful opportunity for the Taliban to address the majority of the members of the European Union and hear their concerns and share with them [our] achievements and to talk about the challenges and also to convey [our] future plans for Europe,” Azam, who attended the Oslo talks, told Al Jazeera.
Mohsin Amin, a political analyst and researcher, said the talks, among other actions, were “signs of implicit recognition” of the Taliban government.
“I think it has already been recognized as a de facto government,” he told Al Jazeera.
“I think [the Oslo talks] can be considered a feat for Taliban diplomacy. The Taliban want to engage with the rest of the world, and such meetings have facilitated this type of engagement.
Sulaiman bin Shah, former deputy minister for industry and trade in ousted President Ashraf Ghani’s government, agreed that the Oslo talks and other forms of engagement “effectively create a situation where the new rule is de facto recognised”.
Shah said the international community was trying to strike a balance between resolving the extreme humanitarian crisis and not legitimizing the Taliban government.
“The attempt to walk a fine line is indeed an illusion that foreign governments have made to achieve political goals and objectives,” Shah told Al Jazeera.
“Only the events of August 15 [when the Taliban captured Kabul] were not foreseeable, but that does not mean that the international community is not responsible for the peace agreements signed in Doha [between the US and the Taliban in 2020].”
Need for humanitarian aid
The United Nations has said more than half of Afghanistan’s population faces “extreme hunger”.
Earlier in January, UN Secretary-General Guterres appealed for more than $4.4 billion “to prevent the collapse of food, education and economic systems.”
Shah said the crisis following the Afghan Taliban takeover had hit the public sector and its ability to deliver basic services “drastically”.
“While fiscal and budgetary arrangements have been a daunting task for the [Afghan] Ministry of Finance, only incremental payments were made to civil servants, including teachers and health professionals,” he said.
International sanctions that have frozen many Afghans’ ability to transfer money or transact have also stifled the private sector, he said.
Amin, the analyst, said the crisis could not be solved by humanitarian aid alone, but that the measures taken to isolate Afghanistan after the Taliban takeover needed to be reviewed.
“Foreign governments cannot avert the humanitarian crisis through humanitarian aid alone,” he said.
“To reduce poverty in Afghanistan, development projects must resume, sanctions against the Afghan banking sector must be lifted, and central bank assets must be [be] thawed. »
Azam, the Afghan Foreign Ministry official, said the Taliban had, during the Oslo talks, given “the assurance of security to [US and European officials] to extend their [humanitarian] assistance throughout the country.
Debate on inclusivity
One of the talking points at the Oslo talks appeared to be the demand from US, European and other governments that the Taliban form an “inclusive government”.
The Taliban’s previous stint in power in the 1990s was marked by a largely homogeneous Taliban-dominated government that imposed a strict interpretation of Islamic law on the country, with severe restrictions placed on women in many spheres of government. the life.
“[US and European officials] raised the importance of respect for human rights and the dire need for an inclusive and representative political system to ensure stability and a peaceful future for Afghanistan,” said the joint US-EU statement released after the Oslo talks.
Since the talks, Acting Foreign Minister Muttaqi and other Taliban officials have questioned the definition of an “inclusive government”, saying foreign governments have failed to provide measures on the term and claiming that the current interim government is diverse.
Azam said there had been a “serious discussion” in Oslo over the term, but the Afghan delegation had not clarified what the request meant.
“I think there is no comprehensive definition related to ‘inclusive government,'” he said, adding that conversations had also taken place about what the form of Afghan government should be.
“Finally, the summary is that it is the authority of the Afghans to establish a government based on the nature and value of [Afghan] cultural,” he said.
US and European officials, however, say the term “inclusive” must be defined in a way acceptable to all Afghans.
“It is not the task of the international community to define an inclusive Afghan government,” EU Special Envoy for Afghanistan Tomas Niklasson said in response to a statement by the Afghan Foreign Minister. interim, Muttaqi.
It is not for the international community to define an inclusive Afghan government. It is up to all adult Afghan men and women to do so through transparent processes – on which they also had a say – and with respect for their rights. Perhaps a recipe for national legitimacy? https://t.co/bgtcDH7GAI
—Tomas Niklasson (@tomas_niklasson) January 27, 2022
“It is up to all Afghan adults, men and women, to do so through transparent processes – on which they also had a say – and with respect for their rights.
Analysts said some of the key determinants of Afghan government diversity will include the ability of political opponents of the Taliban, such as members of the previous government, to participate, as well as the role played by women and ethnic minorities.
“The international community must establish a [Afghan government] which respects the values of humanity and will investigate the killings of women, children, minorities and all citizens of Afghanistan,” said Rokhsaneh Rezaei, an Afghan rights activist.
“[The world must] make a wise decision about the political destiny of Afghanistan.
Amin, the analyst, warned that while the Afghan Taliban and world powers currently have any weight in the talks – the Taliban in the form of controlling the country and foreign countries in the form of needing financial and other assistance – that the current impasse was hurting ordinary Afghans.
“I think the Taliban and the United States are abusing perceived leverage and punishing the Afghan people,” he said.
“Stubbornness on both sides is harmful.”
Mohsin Khan Momand is the producer of Al Jazeera in Kabul, Afghanistan. Asad Hashim is Al Jazeera’s digital correspondent in Pakistan.