Taliban vying for position of Afghan representative at UN

View of Kabul (Harici)

By Kuban Abdymen

KABUL: A representative of the Taliban, Zabiullah Mujahid, has requested that Afghanistan’s seat at the United Nations be handed over to the current government of Afghanistan. He stated that refusing to transfer the seat to the Islamic Emirate would be an affront to the Afghan people.

“This organization [the UN] has its own goals. We are following a different path, which is based on independence, freedom, and an Islamic system. Naturally, the UN’s path differs from ours, but a great injustice will be done to the people of Afghanistan if the UN representative seat is not handed over to the people of Afghanistan and the government formed by the Taliban,” Mujahid said.

The fate of Afghanistan’s representation at the United Nations remains uncertain following the fall of the previous government,  Tolonews agency reports.

Until December 16, 2021, Afghanistan’s representation at the UN was led by Gulam Isaczai, who was appointed to the position by the previous government. He resigned because real power in his homeland had shifted to the radical Taliban movement.

The new head of Afghanistan’s UN representation is Nasir Ahmad Faqir, who was also appointed under the previous government in Kabul.

He had previously said that the UN’s role in the Afghan issue is important and fundamental.

“The UN’s role is key and fundamental in the case of Afghanistan. The only important office currently operating in Afghanistan is the UN. Although its activities are limited to providing humanitarian aid, it will play a very important role as the largest international organization,” he said, Asiaplustj.info reports.

In September 2021, a Taliban representative, Suhail Shaheen, said that he expected to soon represent Afghanistan at the UN.

“The permanent representative of the Kabul administration (the former government) does not represent Afghanistan and its people. They have no popular support… We have the support of the people of Afghanistan and control over the entire territory of Afghanistan. Afghanistan’s seat at the UN is our right. We hope that everyone will soon realize this undeniable fact,” Shaheen said.

However, making concessions to the Taliban and effecting a change in the composition of Afghanistan’s representation at the UN is challenging, as the Taliban government is not recognized by any country worldwide.

Nevertheless, in several countries, including Iran, Russia, China, Pakistan, and Turkmenistan, local diplomatic missions are led by representatives of the Taliban, despite their officially unrecognized status.

The United Nations was established on October 24, 1945, after 29 countries ratified its Charter, and Afghanistan became a member of the organization in 1946.