Deny Taliban recognition
A group of Afghan diplomats from the deposed government in Kabul has issued a first-of-its-kind joint statement calling on world leaders to deny the Taliban formal recognition and chiding them for "leaving our people at the mercy of a terrorist group."
The statement, which was provided to Reuters ahead of its public release, was signed by two dozen officials operating in a kind of diplomatic twilight, with no government to represent but still working from missions in the United States, Britain, France, Turkey and elsewhere.
The diplomats who signed the strongly worded letter were all below the rank of ambassador.
"We are disheartened that after twenty years of engagement, our allies are abandoning Afghanistan and leaving our people at the mercy of a terrorist group," the diplomats wrote.
The letter also asked world leaders to use all available means to halt Taliban violence against women, civil society activists and journalists.
It included warnings about the global implications of the Taliban's overthrow of the Afghan government.
"Taliban's success in capturing power through illegal and violent means ... emboldens terrorist and violent extremist groups around the world," they wrote, adding the violent takeover "normalizes violence."
Afghanistan needs urgent and sustained support from the international community to prevent a larger humanitarian crisis, the head of the UN refugee agency said, warning of global implications if that were to happen.
Meanwhile, Taliban co-founder and presently the deputy prime minister of the cabinet recently announced by the Taliban in Afghanistan, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, has been named in the list of the 100 most influential people of 2021 by Time magazine.
Time on Wednesday released its annual list of 'The 100 Most Influential People of 2021', a global list of leaders that includes US President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, Chinese President Xi Jinping, and former US President Donald Trump.
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