(Oslo) A Taliban delegation arrived in Norway on Saturday for three days of discussions with Western diplomats and representatives of Afghan civil society in the hope, according to their spokesperson, of “changing the warlike atmosphere” which reigns in the country.
Updated yesterday at 2:39 p.m.
According to images from the newspaper Verdens Gang (VG), a plane chartered by the Norwegian government landed in the evening at Oslo international airport with fifteen representatives of the Islamist government.
The all-male delegation is led by Foreign Minister Amir Khan Mutaqqi.
The humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan and respect for human rights, particularly those of women, made a condition for the eventual return of international aid, which financed 80% of the Afghan budget, will be at the center of the talks.
“The Islamic Emirate (name given by the Taliban to their regime, editor’s note) has taken measures to meet the demands of the Western world and we hope to strengthen our diplomatic relations with all countries, including European countries and the West in general,” spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told AFP on Saturday.
The Taliban, in power since August after their lightning conquest of the country, want to “change the warlike atmosphere […] in a peaceful situation,” he added.
These discussions “do not constitute a legitimization or recognition of the Taliban”, insisted Friday the head of Norwegian diplomacy, Anniken Huitfeldt, while no country has so far recognized the Taliban government.
“But we have to talk to the authorities who are de facto running the country. We cannot allow the political situation to lead to an even greater humanitarian disaster,” she stressed.
On Sunday, the Taliban are to meet with members of Afghan civil society, including feminist activists and journalists.
On Monday, they will meet with representatives from the United States, France, United Kingdom, Germany, Italy and the European Union, while Tuesday will focus more on bilateral contacts with Norwegian authorities. .
Since August, the international aid that carried Afghanistan at arm’s length suddenly stopped and the United States also froze $9.5 billion in Afghan Central Bank assets.
Unemployment has exploded and the salaries of civil servants have not been paid for months, in this country already ravaged by severe droughts. Hunger now threatens 23 million Afghans, or 55% of the population, according to the UN.
Since the return of the Taliban, women have been largely excluded from public sector jobs and secondary schools for girls remain mostly closed.
The Oslo talks were condemned by the National Resistance Front (FNR), an opposition group that continues to resist Islamist fundamentalists.
They risk “normalizing a terrorist group and making it the representative of Afghanistan”, said Friday on Twitter Ali Maisam Nazary, the FNR’s foreign affairs delegate.