Taliban asks to address UN after Afghanistan takeover
Al Jazeera
Afghanistan’s new rulers have asked to represent the country at the 76th annual UN session, posing a dilemma for the UN.
The Taliban wants its envoy to address the annual United Nations General Assembly’s high-level meeting of world leaders this week, a UN spokesman said on Tuesday, raising the question of who should represent Afghanistan in the intergovernmental organisation.
The Taliban, which captured power on August 15 following weeks of a military blitz, is challenging the credentials of the country’s former UN ambassador, Ghulam Isaczai, appointed by the previous government. President Ashraf Ghani fled the country last month after the Taliban retook Afghanistan 20 years after it was removed from power in a United States-led military invasion.
The request was sent on Monday via a letter addressed to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, ahead of this week’s UNGA meeting in New York, Stephane Dujarric, a spokesperson for Guterres, said on Tuesday.
