Taliban foreign minister said we do not want conflict with India

Posted on 16th Nov 2021 by rohit kumar

Amir Khan Muttaqi, the interim foreign minister of the Taliban government in Afghanistan, has confirmed that he is playing the role of a mediator in the agreement between Pakistan and Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

 

In an interview with the BBC, he said his government was playing the role of a third party and mediator in the deal at the "will of both sides".

 

"There is no final agreement yet, but the start has been very good and a one-month ceasefire has been agreed in the first part of the agreement. Both sides have agreed that talks will continue," he said.

 

He has expressed hope that this is a good step and he hopes that there will be no further difficulties in this regard. He has also expressed hope that the closeness between Pakistan and TTP will increase.

 

After the return of Afghanistan to power in August, the Taliban's interim foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi accompanied his delegation to Pakistan on a three-day visit.

 

First interview with a female journalist

 

During this visit, he met various government figures including Prime Minister Imran Khan, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, and also held meetings with journalists and think tanks.

 

During the trip, she interviewed the BBC, her first interview with any female journalist.

 

On the question of how big a threat the extremist organization Islamic State is to his government in Afghanistan, Amir Khan Muttaqi said that the Islamic State is a threat, but his government has eliminated it from a large part of the country.

 

"Sporadic incidents can happen anywhere in the world. Previously, 70 percent of Afghanistan was under the control of the Islamic Emirate. Now the Taliban have eliminated the Islamic State from all these areas. They were present only in those parts where The former was under the control of the Kabul government."

 

"When we took control of Kabul, Islamic State started raising its head in these areas, but our Taliban government took good steps to control them. We have now confined Islamic State to most of the areas. Sometimes mosques Like some incidents happen in some places, which can happen anywhere in the world."

 

'We don't want conflict with India'

 

On the question of relations with India, Amir Khan Muttaqi said that Afghanistan does not want conflict with any country including India.

 

He said that the policy of the present government of Afghanistan is that we should not have a conflict with any country of the world.

 

"We don't want Afghanistan to have conflicts with any other country or face challenges that affect our country, so we'll keep working on it."

 

When asked whether there was any reaction from Pakistan or China on close ties with India, he referred to the meetings in Moscow and said that "when we attended the Moscow conference, there was India, Pakistan and other countries. Representatives of the U.S. were present. Positive things happened there and we hope that we will not oppose any country."

 

Claims to give women their rights

The BBC also spoke to Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi about the violation of women's rights after his government came to power.

 

He was asked that the world has been told that the Taliban has changed now than before and if this is true then why are women in the country not being given their basic human rights?

 

In response, Amir Khan Muttaqi denied such reports and said that "it is not true that women are not visible in any field".

 

"The participation of women in the health sector is 100 percent. That we should not give women their rights in any field.

 

It is worth noting that according to reports, girls' educational institutions are closed in most of the provinces occupied by the Taliban, while there have also been reports from Afghanistan that women have been banned from going to work there.

 

Is the Taliban government inclusive?

The Taliban government has been claiming that its interim government meets the international conditions of an 'inclusive' government and that all parties are involved.

 

But the United Nations Security Council has clearly stated that 'inclusive government' means a government in which all parties and women are equally involved.

 

However, there is no woman in the interim cabinet of the Taliban. When Amir Khan Muttaqi was asked the same question, he said that he does not think that women are not getting any share in his government.

 

He says, "Afghanistan's economy and government spending were heavily reliant on international aid, which is currently closed. In addition, Afghanistan's assets abroad are also frozen. Currently, human resources from international aid agencies and other countries are available. Aid for life has also stopped. This is the reason why the country is rapidly heading towards a serious humanitarian crisis."

 

Asked what the Taliban government plans to do if Afghanistan is not recognized and a source of aid is not reopened, Mottaki says he is also moving forward in his relationship with the world. . It is expected that relations with the world will be even stronger.

 

He said that "his government includes representatives of all regions and tribes and the world should recognize this government".

 

"The government currently in force in Afghanistan includes all the staff and employees of the previous government, which in total includes about 50 lakh employees. If the world recognized the previous government as an 'inclusive government', then why not give it to our government?

 

He raised the question that "if the world considers it to be an inclusive government in which all tribes are included, then our government also has a representation of all castes and tribes." All regions are represented.

 

"If they mean representation of all sectors in ministries, then we have ministers from Panjshir. People from Badakhshan, Faryab, Kandahar, Nangarhar and Kabul are included. Each country and region has its interpretation of inclusive government, so we will continue our efforts to make our government more inclusive and give everyone their due.