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by Ayub Khan CHICAGO (Islam Online) - Deputy Foreign Minister of the Taliban, Mullah Abdul Rehman Zahid, currently visiting the United States, said that his government has fulfilled all the requirements necessary for induction into the United Nations and urged the organization to allot Afghanistan a seat.
Currently, the Taliban's rival Northern Alliance holds the Afghan seat in the U.N. "Afghanistan fulfills the conditions required for a government to be recognized. Now it is up to the U.N. member states as to whether or not they fulfill their obligations," the Dawn Newspaper reported Zahid as saying. The Taliban delegation also met senior U.S. officials but made little headway. Deputy Foreign Minister Zahid, Under Secretary of State Thomas Pickering and Assistant Secretary of State Karl Inderfuth led the discussions. State Department Spokesman Richard Boucher described the talks as "frank and straightforward." ''I cannot characterize anything as being progress. They explained their position. I wouldn't say whether we accepted it or not.... I think it is quite clear we don't agree on those subjects," Boucher said. Zahid said that his government has restored peace and security in 95% of the territory in Afghanistan and has done much in controlling the drug trade and what the United States labels "terrorism". "But we are at a loss to understand as to why recognition is not accorded to Afghanistan," he asked. Italy is trying to reconcile the warring factions in Afghanistan and said that Italy might recognize the Taliban regime once peace is restored. Italy's Deputy Foreign Minister Ugo Intini, who visited Afghanistan last week, told the press in Islamabad, "I told everyone I met in Kabul that let's be pragmatic at this moment; let's not speak in abstract; let's establish a humanitarian corridor where people from all sides having roots in the Afghan society or moral authority, including doctors, engineers, social workers and others, can participate and cooperate if you want to use the aid from Europe and other members of the international community more effectively." During his visit last Thursday, Intini met the Taliban foreign minister and U.N. officials. He had earlier met Taliban-foe Commander Ahmed Shah Masood in Tajikistan on Wednesday. |
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