Taliban Rejects Domestic Policy Changes in Bid for International Recognition

Zabihullah Mujahid, spokesman for the Taliban administration, has said the group will not give up what it describes as the rule of Islamic Sharia in order to establish formal relations with countries around the world, a stance that could prolong Afghanistan’s international isolation.

In his latest media remarks, Mujahid said: “In exchange for the world’s acceptance to establish official relations with Afghanistan, we will not give up the rule of Islamic Sharia.” He also stressed that the Taliban administration’s domestic policies would not change and that the world must accept the group’s religious interpretation.

The position comes as the international community has repeatedly called on the Taliban administration over the past five years to ease restrictions imposed on women, religious minorities and civil liberties. However, the spokesman’s latest comments indicate the administration is unwilling to soften these policies under foreign pressure.

The report says analysts believe the stance reflects the Taliban administration’s insistence on enforcing Sharia rulings in its own way, including qisas and public punishments, measures that have previously drawn condemnation from Western governments and organisations.

At the same time, the Taliban administration is calling for sanctions to be lifted, the reopening of the US embassy in Kabul and the release of Afghanistan’s frozen assets, but it is not willing to alter its domestic policies in return. Experts say this gap between external demands and the Taliban administration’s internal approach is one of the main reasons for its continuing political isolation.

So far, only Russia has formally recognised the Taliban administration, while other countries, despite maintaining some level of political and economic engagement, have declined to grant it official recognition.