The Taliban have nominated Mohammad Suhail Shaheen to be Afghanistan’s ambassador to the United Nations and requested that their foreign minister be allowed to address the UN General Assembly taking place this week in New York.
In a letter to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, the Taliban said former President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani was ousted as of August 15 and that countries across the world no longer recognise him as the war-torn nation’s leader. The letter was confirmed by Farhan Haq, a UN spokesman. However, the request may run up against some diplomatic hurdles.
With Ghani’s UN ambassador, Ghulam Isaczai, currently in place at the global organisation, the Taliban said they want acting Foreign Minister Ameer Khan Muttaqi to be allowed to address the General Assembly.
According to report, some officials have said any move by the UN’s Credentials Committee to approve a new Afghanistan ambassador wouldn’t take place quickly enough to allow a Taliban representative to address the gathering, allowing Isaczai to still deliver a speech next Monday despite being part of a the former government.
While few nations have officially recognised the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan, the militant group and UN officials are working together to provide food and other aid to avert a growing humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan.
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