United States President Joe Biden on Tuesday said that China has a “problem” with the Taliban and he was sure that it will try to “work out an arrangement” with the insurgent group. Biden told reporters at the White House that Pakistan, Russia and Iran too have a problem with the Taliban, which seized control of Afghanistan on August 15.
“They’re all trying to figure out, what do they do now,” the president said. “So it will be interesting to see what happens.”
The US president was responding to a reporter who asked if Biden was worried about Taliban receiving funds from China.
The statement came hours after the Taliban announced an all-male Cabinet for running its interim government. The list included Sarajuddin Haqqani, the chief of militant group Haqqani Network and named in the US’ Federal Bureau of Investigation’s most wanted list for terrorism.
Haqqani was named the interior minister in the interim government. Mullah Mohammad Hasan Akhund, the head of Taliban’s decision-making body was made the prime minister.
The United States has blocked the insurgent group’s access to Afghanistan’s reserves, most of which are held by the are held by the New York Federal Reserve, Reuters reported. The decision was taken to ensure that Taliban stands by its pledges to respect women’s rights and international law.
However, experts quoted by Reuters believe that this economic leverage will be lost if China, Russia or any other country provide funds to the Taliban.
While China has not yet recognised the Taliban government as a legitimate one, Beijing had said on August 16 that it was willing to deepen its “friendly and cooperative” ties with the country.
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan had also said that Afghans had broken “the shackles of slavery”, even as thousands fearful of Taliban rule were desperately trying to flee the war-torn country.
Earlier in July, China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi had hosted Abdul Ghani Baradar, who was named the deputy prime minister of the Taliban interim government on Tuesday. In August, Wang had called for “positively guiding” the Taliban instead of pressurising it.
Meanwhile, former US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley on Wednesday started an online petition to not recognise the Taliban as an official government.
“I can’t believe this is even necessary to say, but under this administration, it is: America must not recognize the Taliban as the legitimate government of Afghanistan,” she tweeted.
Taliban ‘anything buy inclusive’: Afghanistan envoy to UN
Afghanistan’s Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations Ghulam Isaczai on Tuesday said that the new government announced by the Taliban was “anything but inclusive”, reported PTI.
“The people of Afghanistan, especially our youth who have only known a free and democratic Afghanistan, will not accept a governing structure that excludes women and minorities, eliminate constitutional rights for all and does not protect the gains of the past,” he said at the United Nations’ Culture of Peace forum.
Isaczai urged all member states of the global body to help the Afghans promote a “culture of peace” in the country.
“We ask that you continue to reject the reinstatement of the Islamic Emirate, hold the Taliban to account for their violation of international human rights and humanitarian law, insist on an inclusive government and draw a fundamental red line regarding Taliban’s treatment of women and girls and respect for their rights,” he said.
The envoy noted that the Taliban unseated the elected government in the country through violence.
“The Taliban may have won the war but have yet to win peace and the hearts of minds of millions of Afghans,” he said.
He added: “The Taliban must realise that pacification of the country and true peace can only be established if they pursue an inclusive and participatory government in Afghanistan.”
In a tweet, Isaczai said 17 of the 33 Taliban Cabinet members were on the UN sanction list. “This includes their interim PM [prime minister], 2 deputy PMs, interior, defense and foreign affairs [ministers],” he tweeted. “UNSC [UN Security Council] still wields enormous leverage to ensure an inclusive government including with the presence of women and freely elected by people.”
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