Taliban Says Muttaqi Held Talks With OIC Official on Afghanistan and Regional Issues
The Taliban administration says Amir Khan Muttaqi, the acting foreign minister, discussed the situation in Afghanistan and some regional issues during a meeting with Tariq Ali Bakhit, deputy secretary-general of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).
According to the ministry, the talks focused on the “constructive engagement” of OIC member states with the Taliban administration, as well as Afghanistan’s place in the organisation’s future work. The ministry also said the meeting centred on political developments and the expansion of Afghanistan’s economic ties with countries in the region and around the world.
In a statement released by the Taliban administration’s foreign ministry on Sunday, 19 October, it said the creation of “new opportunities in various sectors” in Afghanistan was regarded as a notable development, although it gave no further details.
The meeting comes as the OIC has repeatedly criticised the Taliban’s policies in recent years, especially over girls’ education. On 22 July, at the ninth conference of women ministers from member states, the organisation said the ban on girls’ education and women’s employment in Afghanistan was inconsistent with Islamic values and the principles of dignity, rights and progress for women and girls.
The OIC also held a Contact Group meeting on Afghanistan in New York on 31 September, on the sidelines of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly. Representatives from several Islamic countries, including Pakistan, Turkey, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Indonesia, Egypt and Gambia, attended the meeting, and news sources said the Taliban administration’s representative was not invited.
