While Germany and the USA ruled out an early recognition of the Taliban government, China wants to maintain communication with the radical Islamic rulers in Kabul. The EU was disappointed, but will continue to provide emergency aid to Afghanistan for the time being. In Austria, the federal government decided to provide 18 million in emergency aid to Afghanistan.
Ten million euros of this will go to the UN Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), five million euros to UN Women and three million euros to the UN World Food Program. “We want to help in the region and thereby prevent further refugee movements to Europe,” said Federal Chancellor Sebastian Kurz (VP) in a statement. Vice Chancellor Werner Kogler (Green) added: “The situation of women and girls, refugees and the food situation for a third of the population are alarming. That makes international humanitarian aid so urgently necessary.”
“Legitimacy cannot be earned quickly”
The international legitimacy sought by the Taliban would have to be earned by the Islamists through their actions, said US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday at the US air force base in Ramstein, Rhineland-Palatinate. “In our opinion, it cannot be earned quickly, it cannot be earned through words alone.” The German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said of a possible recognition: “It won’t be about them, I don’t see them at the moment either.” However, he spoke out in favor of continuing talks with the Taliban.
Maas and Blinken criticized the composition of the future cabinet in Kabul. Blinken complained that the cabinet list included “only people who are members of the Taliban or its close allies and not women.” Connections and histories of some government officials are also a matter of concern. For example, Taliban deputy chief Sirajuddin Haqqani, head of the notorious Haqqani network, was appointed future interior minister. The Haqqani network has been blamed for some of the cruelest attacks in Afghanistan in recent years. Haqqani, who is in his mid 40s, is on the US wanted list as a “global terrorist”. The US Federal Police FBI has offered a bounty of up to ten million dollars (almost 8.5 million euros) for clues that lead to his arrest.
“We will continue to measure them by their deeds”
Maas and Blinken connected with their counterparts from more than 20 other countries in Ramstein via video. Blinken said there was general agreement that the Taliban had to earn international support first. Great Britain would also have wanted more diversity in government, as a British government spokesman announced in London. “We will continue to judge the Taliban by their actions.” According to government circles, Russia and India also said in joint consultations that the Taliban would have to keep their promises. The foreign groups operating in Afghanistan are a threat to the entire region.
The European Union (EU) wants to continue its emergency aid for Afghanistan – but is keeping a close eye on the new Taliban government. “The European Union is ready to continue providing humanitarian aid,” said the Vice-President of the European Commission, Maros Sefcovic. In the longer term, however, funds depended on whether the new rulers in Kabul upheld fundamental freedoms. The EU also expressed its disappointment at the transition cabinet set up by the Taliban.
China in “practical dialogue”
China sees the establishment of a new government as a necessary step to rebuild Afghanistan, a Foreign Ministry spokesman said in Beijing. “We hope that the new Afghan authorities will listen fully to people of all ethnicities and factions in order to meet the wishes of their own people and the expectations of the international community.” China respects the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Afghanistan. In Tokyo, the government announced that Japan would monitor the Taliban’s actions. A government official said that they are in “practical dialogue” with the Taliban and are doing everything possible to ensure the safety of Japanese nationals and local staff.
Further protests in Afghanistan
Protests continued in Afghanistan – despite attempts by the militant Islamist Taliban to suppress them by force. On Wednesday there were at least two rallies by women in the capital, Kabul, as seen on videos on social media and reported by local journalists. Taliban arrested reporters again. The largest local TV stations apparently stopped reporting on the protests in Kabul, which had been going on for three days. On Tuesday, the Taliban arrested a group of reporters and cameramen for several hours.
According to the Afghan ambassador in Tajikistan, the resistance against the Taliban in the Panjshir Valley has not been broken. Remnants of the Afghan army and militias are continuing the fighting against the Taliban, said the former government’s envoy, Sahir Aghbar, at a press conference in Dushanbe on Wednesday. He also contradicted statements by the Taliban, the leader of the Afghan Tajiks, Ahmad Massoud, and the former Vice President Amrullah Saleh had fled to neighboring Tajikistan. Both are in the Panjshir Valley. “I am in constant contact with Amrullah Saleh,” said the ambassador. Massoud and Saleh would not go public themselves for security reasons. The Taliban announced on Monday that they had taken control of the Panjshir Valley. During the first period of rule of the Taliban from 1996 to 2001, Massoud’s father was the only opposition leader who was able to fend off a conquest of his home territory.
