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Report: UN Approves Taliban FM Meeting With Pakistan, China

    Report: UN Approves Taliban FM Meeting With Pakistan, China
    Last updated May 02, 2023
    Image credit: AFP [via Al Jazeera]

    Facts

    • Mawlawi Amir Khan Muttaqi, the Taliban’s interim foreign minister, has reportedly received permission from a UN Security Council committee to travel from Afghanistan to Pakistan May 6-9 for meetings with his counterparts from Pakistan and China.[1]
    • This reportedly comes upon request from Pakistan’s UN mission — which will cover the cost of the trip — on Monday for a travel exemption for Muttaqi, who is under UN Security Council sanctions, including a travel ban, asset freeze, and arms embargo.[2]
    • Although a meeting agenda wasn’t divulged, China and Pakistan have each said they would consider allowing Taliban-led Afghanistan to be part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a multibillion-dollar infrastructure project.[3]
    • Last month, the UN Security Council allowed Muttaqi to travel to Uzbekistan, where he met with neighboring foreign ministers to discuss peace and security.[2]
    • The exemption comes alongside a two-day Security Council committee meeting that started on Monday in Doha, Qatar, where UN special envoys on Afghanistan from nearly two dozen nations have gathered to discuss how to engage with the Taliban.[2]
    • The Taliban retook power in Afghanistan in August 2021, as US forces withdrew after 20 years. The international community hasn't recognized the Taliban government on the basis of alleged human rights violations.[2]

    Spin

    Pro-establishment narrative

    The world must present a united front and isolate the Taliban until they make the crucial reforms necessary to be considered an equal partner with the rest of the world. Allowing Taliban officials to travel and meet with counterparts abroad only drums up unfair anti-American sentiments and empowers the Taliban to never change their brutal ways.

    Establishment-critical narrative

    The only way to get the Taliban to reform and to aid in the fight against terrorism is to engage with their foreign ministers because they’re in charge in Afghanistan and won’t be going anywhere soon. While respecting the Taliban’s religion and customs, they can be urged to be more inclusive and progressive while also acting to make Asia a safer continent.

    Nerd narrative

    There’s a 25% chance the US will recognize the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan before 2030, according to the Metaculus prediction community.

    Establishment split

    CRITICAL

    PRO

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