WASHINGTON: The US administration and lawmakers have both forcefully rejected the suggestion that a UN-hosted meeting in Doha next week would explore the possibilities of recognising Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers.

“The intent and the purpose of this meeting was never to discuss recognition of the Taliban, and any discussion at this meeting about recognition would be unacceptable to us,” US State Department’s Principal Deputy Spoke­sperson Vedant Patel said at a Thursday afternoon news briefing.

Senator Jim Risch, a ranking member of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, not only rejected the suggestion but also criticised the United Nations. “The UN needs a wake-up call. Any talk of recognition of the Taliban is absolutely absurd,” he tweeted. “This murderous regime continues to deny women the ability to work or go to school while millions of Afghans are in dire humanitarian need.”

Senator Risch says UN needs a ‘wake-up call’

A member of the US mission at the United Nations also ruled out any discussion on the Taliban’s recognition while talking to reporters in New York.

The rebuttals followed UN Deputy Secretary General Amina Mohammed’s statement that at the UN-sponsored Doha meeting on May 1-2, the world body hopes to find those baby steps that “put us back on the pathway to recognition … of the Taliban. In other words, there are conditions”.

Asked at a seminar at Princeton University on Monday if the Taliban regime was seeking recognition, Ms Mohammed said: “Yes. The Taliban clearly want recognition. And that’s the leverage we have” for persuading them to change their attitude towards women and on other issues.

The UN chief’s office confirmed part of Ms Mohammed’s statement that Secretary General Antonio Guterres would host the two-day meeting in Doha, Qatar, of envoys from countries around the world, but the deliberations would not focus on recognition of the Taliban.

Talking to reporters in New York, UN spokesman Farhan Haq said: “The point of the discussion, which will be held in a closed, private setting, is to build a more unified consensus on the challenges at hand.”

The priority of the Doha meeting, he said, was to “advance an approach-based pragmatism and principles to have a constructive engagement on the issue.”

Ms Mohammed’s suggestion, however, encouraged Taliban chief spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid to demand that the UN “fulfil its responsibility” towards the people of Afghanistan by recognising their regime.

“The recognition will build mutual trust with world countries and help resolve all issues that can benefit regional security and stability,” Mr Mujahid told VOA broadcasting service.

Published in Dawn, April 22nd, 2023