Doha/Kabul, (Samajweekly) The Taliban-led government in Afghanistan has “opened a new chapter” in relations with the international community by sending a message of good ties to the world, said Acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi.
He made the remarks while addressing an event on Monday organised by the Centre for Conflict and Humanitarian Studies at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies, TOLO News reported.
“Afghanistan has sent the message of positive relationship with the whole world. We do not want to interfere in any country’s internal affairs, and we expect the same from other countries to not interfere in our internal affairs,” he said.
The Acting Foreign Minister is part of an Afghan Taliban delegation which carried out a two-day meeting with US officials over the weekend in the Qatari capital.
In his address, Muttaqi further said that the full implementation of the US-Taliban 2020 Doha agreement can address any problem between the two countries, adding that the Taliban wants a political system in Afghanistan that can respond to domestic needs.
“What we want in Afghanistan is a political structure as such that responds to our country’s needs and at the same time is able to fulfil its responsibility at the international level,” TOLO News quoted the Minister as saying.
When asked about reforms, women’s education and their right to work, Muttaqi said the world should not put pressure the Taliban and instead, it should cooperate in bringing reforms.
“You should not seek your demands through putting pressure on us. Ask us through cooperation… The previous government had strong international support. Now you are asking for all the reforms in two months.
“Schools for boys and girls were closed before us because of Covivd. When Kabul fell to our hands, all schools were closed already. Schools in provinces were closed already. We have started reopening the schools,” Muttaqi said.
The Minister also claimed that under the new Taliban government, the Covid-19 situation in the country has been controlled “very well”, surprising doctors, TOLO News reported.
In his concluding remarks, Muttaqi said that the Taliban wanted to enter Kabul through negotiations, “but the fact the formerpresident and the security organs fled, Kabul faced the gap of power, there was a vacuum, so we were asked to enter Kabul and ensure the security of the city”.
