The Afghan Taliban have decided not to participate in a U.N.-sponsored conference on Afghanistan in Qatar’s capital Doha.
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will host a two-day gathering beginning Sunday in Doha, where member states and special envoys to Afghanistan will discuss engagement with the Taliban.
In a statement issued Saturday evening on social media platform X, the Afghan Ministry of Foreign Affairs said a delegation would attend only if the Taliban were accepted as the single official representative of Afghanistan
Ministry of Foreign Affairs statement concerning Doha meeting on Afghanistan pic.twitter.com/Mr74Y1DTTm
— Ministry of Foreign Affairs – Afghanistan (@MoFA_Afg) February 17, 2024
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has clarified to the U.N. that if the Islamic Emirate is to participate as the sole official representative of Afghanistan … then participation would be beneficial. Else, ineffectual participation by the Emirate due to non-progress in this area was deemed unbeneficial,” the ministry said.
The Taliban use the term Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, or IEA, for their administration.
The United Nations has invited Afghan civil society members, as well as groups opposed to the Taliban, to meet with special envoys for Afghanistan.
