The interim Taliban government in Afghanistan has been grappling for international recognition from at least one country for almost 2 years. They extended an olive branch to Russia and China.
Both countries desired to establish constructive relations with the de jure Taliban government. However, multiple issues still need to be addressed between the interim Taliban government and these two countries. The United Arab Emirates has accepted the credentials of Badruddin Haqqani as the Taliban’s envoy. This was the first diplomatic win for the Taliban government after the appointment of the Taliban envoy in China.
Challenges and Humanitarian Crisis Under the Taliban Government
Since the Taliban takeover in Kabul on 15th August 2021, the interim government has been grappling for international recognition. However, the Western sanctions on the government and their violations of human rights, especially women’s rights, have made it difficult for it to get recognition from countries. People in Afghanistan are suffering from a complex humanitarian crisis. This crisis has been sparked by poverty, conflict, economic downturn, and repeated disasters. International sanctions on the country have further exacerbated the predicament in Afghanistan. According to some reports, by the end of the year, more than half of the country’s population will require humanitarian aid.
The interim government has hindered women’s participation in businesses and jobs, which has further intensified the situation. According to the Afghanistan Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan (HNRP) 2024 report, food has been identified as the top priority of the people suffering in the country, in addition to health, education, and other facilities. The presence of different terrorist organizations, especially ISIS*, TTP, and Al-Qaeda*, has added to the difficulties of the interim government in establishing cordial relations with the neighboring countries and the rest of the world.
Afghanistan’s neighboring countries also seek to establish cordial relations with the interim Taliban government to stabilize the region. They have been raising concerns over Western sanctions on the country and its negative implications on the civilian population. However, the West, including the United Nations, has repeatedly overlooked these concerns. Former Pakistani Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari appealed to the Western nations to revise their Afghan policy to avoid the looming humanitarian crisis in the country.
Geopolitical Engagements: Russia and China’s Role
Russia and China have already been pursuing an inclusive policy towards the developing and underdeveloped world. Russia has increased its engagement with the interim Afghan government. Earlier this year, Russian officials announced the removal of the Afghan Taliban from the list of terrorist organizations. This step enhanced relations between the interim Taliban government and Russia. The Taliban official’s presence at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum in June this year indicated the establishment of cordial relations between the two sides. President Putin’s separation of terrorism from Islam also narrowed the gulf between the two countries.
Moreover, China also took steps to establish cordial relations with the interim Afghan government. Positive engagement between the two sides resulted in the establishment of fraternal relations between the two sides. In November 2023, the Taliban-run Foreign Ministry announced the appointment of Bilal Karimi as the Afghan envoy to China. The ministry stated, “He is the official-accredited ambassador of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan to the People’s Republic of China.” This became the first-ever diplomatic win of the Taliban government.
Diplomatic Developments and International Recognition
Despite these advances, the Taliban government has been striving to establish diplomatic relations with other countries of the world. Cross-border terrorism emancipating from Afghanistan impinged the interim government’s relations with Pakistan and Iran. The interim Afghan government has been vying for establishing relations with the Middle Eastern and Gulf states. In a recent development, the United Arab Emirates has accepted Badruddin Haqqani’s credentials as Afghanistan’s ambassador. This news was confirmed by the Taliban-run Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a post on the social media forum X. This development underscores the international division over dealing with the interim Afghan government.
Badruddin Haqqani is part of Sirajuddin Haqqani’s team, who met Sheikh Mohammad bin Zayed Al Nahyan. Moreover, he is also not a member of the Taliban. He is officially a member of the Haqqani network, which is allied with the Taliban movement against the United States. The Uzbek Prime Minister Aripov also visited Afghanistan recently. This is the highest-level visit of a foreign leader in the country since the Taliban takeover. These moves demonstrate that internationally, the ice has started melting for the de jure Taliban government in Afghanistan. Although the United Nations has stated that no official recognition of the Taliban government in Afghanistan is possible due to restrictions on women and girls, the Eastern world recognizes the need for positive engagement with the Taliban government to ensure the provision of human rights. Furthermore, these steps by the Western world are also hastening the decline of the US-led New World Order and are expediting the rise of the multipolar world order dominated by Russia and China.
*-banned in Russia
Abbas Hashemite – is a political observer and research analyst for regional and global geopolitical issues. He is currently working as an independent researcher and journalist, exclusively for “New Eastern Outlook”
