Taliban Information Chief Meets with UNAMA Officials in Kabul
On Monday, December 1, 2025, Mawlawi Naeemul Haq Haqqani, head of the Taliban administration’s Media and Information Center, met in Kabul with a delegation from the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA). The delegation included Leila Peters, head of UNAMA’s Strategic Communications Division, and the mission’s deputy head of Human Rights.
According to a statement from the Taliban administration, the meeting focused on media cooperation, the work of journalists, and the performance of domestic media outlets. However, independent sources have not released further details about the meeting, and UNAMA has issued no public statement regarding its content or aims.
This meeting is part of ongoing engagements between UN officials and Taliban-appointed representatives, occurring despite the group’s imposition of widespread restrictions on freedom of expression and journalists’ rights since seizing power in mid-August 2021. Credible international reports continue to document harassment, arbitrary arrests, and threats against Afghan journalists by Taliban-affiliated individuals.
Despite repeated criticism from human rights organizations, UNAMA continues to engage with the Taliban administration—an approach many observers view as indirectly legitimizing the Taliban’s repressive governance structure. Afghan citizens, particularly journalists and media activists, expect the United Nations to take a stronger stand in defense of press freedom and human rights during its dialogue with the Taliban.
