Afghanistan: Still no recognition of a Taliban government

As a United Nations meeting of donors and regional countries showed in Qatar at the beginning of May 2023, recognition of the Taliban as Afghanistan’s official government is still a long way off (Afghan Analysts Network, 5 May 2023).

World Watch Research analyst Thomas Muller explains: “Not only the question of recognition is a long way off, so is agreement on how best to engage with the Taliban for delivering humanitarian aid in an environment where women’s work is basically banned. Added to such challenges are the sheer number of crises in other countries, making donors even more reluctant to pour money into Afghanistan. All this comes much to the frustration of the Taliban, who had not been invited to the meeting in Doha. From the Taliban’s point of view, the outside world should stop meddling in the country’s internal affairs and simply recognize them as the legitimate government of Afghanistan. Consequently, the Taliban have started looking elsewhere for investment in economic and infrastructural development, namely in the direction of China (Axios, 9 May 2023). However, for any meaningful development to benefit the general population, the security situation has to stabilize, which looks unlikely at the time of writing. Hence, any small and hidden religious minority remains particularly vulnerable to potential economic, social and security shocks appearing on the horizon.”

Thomas Muller adds: “In the meantime, on 17 May, the Taliban temporarily appointed a new Prime Minister, Abdul Kabir, as reported by Radio Free Europe on 19 May 2023. It is unlikely, however, if this will bring any change in policies.”