A senior Taliban diplomat urged the international community to aid Afghanistan’s recovery during a meeting in Kabul on Sunday, emphasising the destruction caused by decades of conflict.
Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs Shir Mohammad Abbas Stanekzai called on the United Nations and international NGOs to provide support to Afghanistan in the form of technical help, economic development initiatives and agricultural cooperation.
He particularly addressed countries that were previously militarily involved in Afghanistan, claiming they have a moral obligation to help rebuild the country based on the Doha Agreement.
Stanekzai indirectly pointed to Nato countries that took part in US-led operations, claiming that for 20 years these countries bombed Afghanistan and conducted military missions that led to fatalities and destruction of the country.
“Cooperate with Afghanistan in all fields, especially in politics, economy, agriculture and medicine, so that Afghanistan reaches self-sufficiency,” he said.
The United States and the Taliban signed a peace agreement in Doha that led to the ending of the US occupation of Afghanistan and the subsequent return to power of the Taliban in August 2021.
Since then, the Taliban government has been seeking international recognition and aid, while also facing criticism over its governance practices. As a result, no country has officially recognised the Taliban government yet.
So make any aid contingent on human rights improvement
Wow someone should have tried threatening peripheral countries by withholding trade deals, aid, loans from the World Bank and IMF in exchange for political changes. Why didn’t anyone think of that already? 🤣
The global financial system does not care about human rights, firms want peripheral countries to remain undeveloped to keep costs down. With improvements in living standards come improvements in civil rights. That is what every single person who studies any society will tell you, except for liberals who want to justify extortion and sanctions, but only to “help” of course.