The second session of special representatives from various countries for Afghanistan commenced amidst considerable attention in the capital of Qatar yesterday. This session continues today, with the most crucial meetings and discussions scheduled. Hosted by Antonio Guterres, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, this meeting has become known as the Doha meeting. Everyone monitoring the situation in Afghanistan is watching this meeting closely. Ordinary citizens of Afghanistan, both within the country and abroad, political leaders, civil society, women’s movements, media outlets, and social media users have responded to it. The convening of the Doha meeting in Afghanistan evokes one of the darkest memories—the complete collapse of a nation. The Taliban’s seizure of power in Afghanistan and the subsequent collapse of the country, according to many policymakers and analysts in Doha itself, underscores the importance of this meeting and similar negotiations.
Some of these reactions have been directed towards the invitation extended to the Taliban. The people of Afghanistan addressed the United Nations, asserting that the Taliban have forcefully seized power and are not deserving to lead society and the country, as no one has elected them to leadership. Therefore, they should not represent Afghanistan at international forums. The primary criticism, however, targets the approach adopted by the United Nations in engaging with the Taliban. In this approach, the people of Afghanistan have been sidelined. Even if occasionally a representative from civil society or women is invited, it may not necessarily be someone among the protesting women who are outspoken against the Taliban within Afghanistan. Those accused of lobbying for the Taliban are invited by this group. On one side, the Taliban; on the other, the United Nations, which disregards its charter in maintaining relations with this group; and on the third side, those lobbying for the Taliban but appearing in these meetings dressed as Afghan civilians. In such a triangle, if a decision is made for Afghanistan, it will be a Taliban decision. These concerns have been raised very seriously. These concerns are legitimate and accurate. When the Taliban prohibited women from working in UN agencies last year, the organization set a deadline for the Taliban to reverse their decision. It threatened that if this reversal did not occur, the UN representation in Afghanistan (UNAMA) would be forced to choose between staying and leaving, and if it stayed, it would have to compromise on its charter. The Taliban did not relent, and the UN remained in Afghanistan, compromising its charter under the authority of Roza Oztanbayeva and Antonio Guterres. Following that, Amina Mohammed, the Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations, visited Afghanistan and met with the Taliban. In that meeting, positions favorable to the Taliban were adopted by the UN deputy, a group whose leadership members are still on the blacklist. In UN-hosted meetings, the people are conspicuously absent, political elites are disregarded as a party to the Afghan issue, and opportunities for the Taliban to maneuver and lobby are provided. These instances have aroused concern and criticism among the people.
One of the numerous opportunities that the United Nations extended to the Taliban was this very Doha meeting. However, because their flattery hasn’t been effective thus far, this time the Taliban sold their flattery to the United Nations. They presented two preconditions that were not accepted this time, leading them to boycott the meeting. The first precondition was the presence of this group as the “responsible party of Afghanistan,” which, if granted, would have been a step towards the international legitimacy of this group. The second precondition was high-level talks between the Taliban and the Secretary-General of the United Nations. Although this group hasn’t been recognized by any country during its two-and-a-half years of rule and is in dire need of international legitimacy, it overlooks such opportunities for lobbying in its favor. Why is that?
The United Nations and powerful countries such as the United States and Russia have established direct communication with the Taliban. The United States, claiming to be withdrawing its forces from Afghanistan, unofficially funds a significant portion of the Taliban regime’s budget. According to SIGAR, the United States has been the largest donor to Afghanistan under Taliban rule over the past two years. A significant portion of this aid, in the absence of close monitoring, reportedly falls into the hands of the Taliban, bolstering their authority. On one hand, the United Nations pays the budgets of ministries such as education and public health (teachers’ and doctors’ salaries). Payment of salaries to these two sectors constitutes significant assistance to the Taliban. These ministries, like the ministries of defense and interior, have a large human resource base, and funding their salaries for hundreds of thousands of employees puts pressure on the Taliban’s budget.
On the other hand, as much as the Taliban have imposed further restrictions on Afghan citizens and made living conditions more difficult, to the same extent, governments and international organizations, including the United Nations, have sought closer ties with this group. Entrusting Afghan embassies to the Taliban and sending representatives and ambassadors to Kabul has continued, even after the most ruthless and inhumane forms of oppression against girls and women under the pretext of not adhering to the Taliban’s dress code. The United Nations, a vital part of whose mission is to support human rights, has established close ties with the main violators of human rights (the Taliban). Neither the closure of schools and universities to women as a violation of the right to education nor the prohibition of women from working, nor the restrictions imposed on women regarding their attire, access to bathrooms, parks, or the profession of beauticians had any impact on these relations. The captivity, abduction, torture, and even sexual assault of women in prisons or the killing of opponents under torture continue to happen even yesterday, yet they have not been able to affect the level of relations between the Taliban and the United Nations. Even the killing of former security forces soldiers and their self-abductions by this group have not been able to sever the ties of these relationships. Therefore, the Taliban understand that even if they lose the Doha meeting, it will not affect their relations with the United Nations and countries near and far involved in the Afghan issue. This group is confident that such opportunities will also be available to them in the future. Right now, as the Taliban have boycotted the Doha meeting, the Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations is in Kabul and yesterday met with the Deputy Prime Minister of the Taliban. In that meeting, Mullah Abdul Salam Hanafi, the Deputy Prime Minister of the Taliban, asked the United Nations to take serious steps towards recognizing this group. This expectation arises from warm bilateral relations.
Another reason the Taliban are not concerned about their absence at the Doha meeting is the presence of representatives from allied countries with this group. Since the Taliban are deprived of official participation in international forums, representatives from Pakistan and Iran always act as unofficial guardians of this group’s interests. In many cases, before the Taliban take a stance, these countries take positions in favor of this group. Opposition to the appointment of a UN special representative for Afghan affairs, which is one of the agendas of the current Doha meeting, is also something Iran opposed before the Taliban did. Pakistan, as a traditional ally and primary supporter of the Taliban, is also at the forefront of this list, although there is serious competition for the top position on this list. Russia and China also walk alongside Iran and Pakistan and always stand beside the Taliban. The holding of regional cooperation meetings in Kabul hosted by Amir Khan Muttaqi, which was an initiative of the Islamic Republic of Iran, opposed efforts by the United Nations to solve the Afghan issue. All of these countries have sent their special representatives to the current Doha meeting. Therefore, the presence of these countries is interpreted as the presence of defenders of the Taliban’s interests. The Taliban can sell flirt and ignore the Doha meeting because their unofficial guardians of interests are present at that meeting.