Afghan soil won’t be used to attack others, vows FM
Mutaqi refuses to give any timeframe for the duration of interim government, thanks the world for pledging hundreds of millions of dollars in aid to Afghanistan; acting FM urges US to show ‘heart’ to the impoverished country
The foreign minister in Afghanistan’s new Talibanrun cabinet says the government remains commited to its promises not to allow militants to use its territory to atack others.
In his first press conference since the Taliban formed an interim government a week ago, Molavi Amir Khan Mutaqi on Tuesday would not give a timeframe for how long the government would be in place or whether it would eventually be opened up to other factions, minorities or women.
When asked about the possibility of elections, Mutaqi demanded other countries not interfere in Afghanistan’s internal issues.
The Taliban on Tuesday thanked the world for pledging hundreds of millions of dollars in emergency aid to Afghanistan, and urged the United States to show “heart” to the impoverished country.
A donor conference in Geneva on Monday saw countries promise a total of $1.2 billion in aid for Afghanistan, which was taken over by the hardline group last month in a lightning offensive that took retreating US troops by surprise.
Afghanistan, already heavily dependent on aid, is facing an economic crisis, with the new authorities unable to pay salaries and food prices soaring.
Amir Khan Mutaqi, the regime’s acting foreign minister, told a press conference the Taliban would spend donor money wisely and use it to alleviate poverty.
“The Islamic Emirate will try its best to deliver this aid to the needy people in a completely transparent manner,” Mutaqi said.
Mutaqi called on international donors to restart aid, as the Taliban government seeks to shore up the finances of a country heavily reliant on external assistance ater 40 years of near-continuous war.
“Afghanistan is a war-hit country and it needs the international community’s assistance in different sectors, especially education, health and development,” Amir Khan Mutaqi told a news conference in the capital Kabul.
“Projects that are incomplete need to be completed in order to avoid waste of resources,” he added, also calling for more assistance from multilateral donors including the World Bank, Asian Development Bank and Islamic Development Bank.
He also asked Washington to show appreciation for the Taliban allowing the US to complete a troop withdrawal and evacuation of more than 120,000 people last month.
“America is a big country, they need to have a big heart,” he said.
Mutaqi said Afghanistan, which is also facing a drought, had already received aid from countries such as Pakistan, Qatar and Uzbekistan, but did not give further details.
He said he had held discussions with China’s ambassador on the coronavirus vaccine and other humanitarian causes, with Beijing pledging $15 million which will be available “soon”.
Since the Taliban takeover, the World Bank and International Monetary Fund have halted Afghanistan’s access to funding, while the United States has also frozen cash held in its reserve for Kabul.
UN chief Antonio Guterres on Monday said he believed aid could be used as leverage with the hardliners to exact improvements on human rights, amid fears of a return to the brutal rule that characterised the first Taliban regime from 1996 to 2001.
“It is impossible to provide humanitarian assistance inside Afghanistan without engaging with the de facto authorities,” the UN secretarygeneral told ministers atending the Geneva talks.
“It is very important to engage with the Taliban at the present moment.”
The Taliban have promised a milder form of rule this time around, but have moved switly to crush dissent, including firing in the air to disperse recent protests by women calling for the right to education and work.
UN rights chief Michelle Bachelet said she was “dismayed by the lack of inclusivity of the so-called caretaker cabinet, which includes no women and few non-pashtuns.”
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has previously warned that the Taliban would have to earn legitimacy and support, ater talks with allies on how to present a united front.
The caretaker cabinet, he said, would be judged “by its actions.”