The “Troika-Plus” meeting avoided “extreme pressure” on the movement
The international community is 'cautiously' seeking to influence the Taliban's policies
The movement's leaders show flexibility towards openness to international ideas.
EPA
The international community praised the smooth flow of traffic to and from Kabul Airport.
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The Troika-Plus group met, in the presence of Pakistan, the United States of America, China and Russia, on November 11, for the first time since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan last August.
It should be noted that this forum was created to include the countries that are considered the most influential in Afghanistan, and are able to support peace and stability in this country.
The most important items of “Troika-Plus”
These meetings came to confirm to the international powers, in addition to Pakistan, a number of points regarding their expectations of how the Taliban will run the Afghan state, which can be detailed in the following points:
Concern about the repercussions of the Afghan crises
Concerns about an economic collapse and an exacerbation of the humanitarian crisis are increasing dramatically, and this will result in a new wave of refugees, and therefore all parties have welcomed the international community's provision of urgent humanitarian aid to Afghanistan, especially those directed to combating the "Corona" pandemic.
Concerns about the situation in Afghanistan are growing, as United Nations aid programs predict that Afghanistan will suffer food shortages in the winter, which could affect 23 million people in Afghanistan, or more than half the population.
Condemning the recent terrorist attacks
The meeting with the Taliban called for severing ties with all international terrorist groups, dismantling and decisively eliminating them. The participating parties also expected the movement to fulfill its commitment to prevent the use of Afghan territory by terrorists against its neighbors and other countries in the region and the rest of the world.
The issue of combating terrorism was considered one of the issues that the four countries agreed upon with the Taliban, which made some progress, as Taliban representatives confirmed that their government would ensure confronting terrorist groups, in reference to ISIS.
However, the movement stressed that it is unable to confront all armed groups residing in Afghanistan simultaneously, so as not to open multiple fronts against it, or for these groups to unite behind the “ISIS” organization.
This point reflects the fears of international powers, specifically the United States and Western countries, who fear that Afghanistan will turn into a safe haven for terrorist organizations, with the collusion of the “Taliban”, or that the latter will be unable to control the security situation in the country, which opens the door to the expansion of ISIS. Khorasan” internally, as well as in carrying out attacks against Western countries.
Perhaps the presence of pessimistic assessments on the part of the US Department of Defense reinforces these fears. The US Undersecretary of Defense for Policy, Colin Cale, said in his testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee on October 27, that “al-Qaeda and (ISIS-K) have the intention to carry out External operations,” noting that “we can see (ISIS Khorasan) can launch terrorist operations somewhere, between six and 12 months, while it will take (Al-Qaeda) a year or two, to reach that level.”
While the "Taliban" is allied with "Al-Qaeda", it is opposing ISIS-Khorasan, which may be a possible file for cooperation between Washington and the "Taliban".
Call on the Taliban to form an inclusive government
The Troika called on the Taliban to work on forming an inclusive government that represents the various components of Afghan society, respects the rights of all Afghans, and provides equal rights for women and girls.
The parties also agreed to participate in this conference to continue engaging with the "Taliban" movement to ensure its implementation of moderate policies that would contribute to achieving stability and prosperity in Afghanistan as soon as possible.
It is noted that there are still fundamental differences between the Taliban and the international parties regarding the concept of inclusive government. Representatives of the movement indicated that hundreds of thousands of civil servants have resumed work, which gives the government enough of an inclusive character, and this is fundamentally different from the concept of the parties. The International Conference on the inclusive government, which is based on the idea of representing different minorities in the government, in order to achieve the stability of the political system.
Welcoming the facilitation of freedom to leave the country
The Troika welcomed the Taliban’s continued commitment to allowing safe passage to all those wishing to travel to and from Afghanistan, as well as encouraging the Afghan state to make rapid progress on arrangements for the establishment of airports across the country to facilitate commercial air transport, which is necessary to enable The constant flow of humanitarian aid.
Emphasizing the need to respect women's rights
The gathered nations stressed the importance of Afghan women and girls having access to education at all levels of education, while urging the movement to accelerate efforts to provide full and equal access to education across the country.
For its part, the Taliban delegation explained that girls’ schools are operating in at least 10 districts, with the movement intending to open them across the country, but since the funds for salaries and the management of these schools come from foreign aid, once this funding is resumed, It could be the resumption of girls' education.
On the other hand, some analyzes indicate the continued exclusion of women from Afghan public life, as most female employees in the public sector are still prohibited from returning to work, in addition to the continued absence of girls in most parts of the country from secondary schools.
Calling on the Taliban to take a peaceful approach
The troika called on the Taliban to respect international legal obligations, including globally agreed principles of international law and fundamental human rights, while protecting the integrity of the legitimate rights of foreign citizens and foreign institutions in Afghanistan.
The implications of the outcome of the meeting
By reviewing the outcomes of the “Troika Plus” meeting, it is noted that it took a step towards recognizing the “Taliban” as the representative of the Afghan people, which can be clarified as follows:
Consensus on the need for stability in Afghanistan
This meeting is a sign of the agreement of all participating countries on the necessity of stabilizing the Afghan state, and not sliding into civil war, or turning it into a safe haven for terrorist organizations, with negative repercussions on the security of neighboring countries.
Diplomatic recognition of the Taliban
Despite the suspension of a number of governments, including the US government, from providing economic aid, in addition to freezing the assets of the Central Bank of Afghanistan abroad, this meeting did not address the parties to discuss the legitimacy of the ruling regime led by the “Taliban” movement, which means tacit recognition The de facto existence of this regime at the helm of power, and the focus on establishing stability and peace in the state.
Representatives of the four countries met with the Afghan Foreign Minister, Amir Khan Muttaki. This meeting was the most substantive engagement with the new Afghan government, which reflects the keenness to reach understandings with the Taliban, which may lead to the lifting of the embargo on it at a later stage.
Regional rivalry in the Afghan arena
China supported Pakistan to host this expanded meeting as a consultation mechanism between China, the United States and Russia, which excluded India.
The "troika" talks in Pakistan came the day after India held its multilateral meeting focused on the situation in Afghanistan, where the Indian National Security Adviser hosted security officials in Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan in New Delhi, while not inviting Taliban representatives. for this meeting.
Pakistan and China refused to attend this conference, which is due to its tense relations with India, as a result of the escalating conflicts along their borders, and it also indicates the existence of a Pakistani-Chinese consensus on excluding India from dealing with the developments of the Afghan crisis.
The pivotal role of Pakistan
This meeting confirmed Pakistan's increasing leadership role in the Afghan crisis.
Although Pakistan does not officially recognize the Taliban interim government, it supports the Afghan regime unconditionally.
The Pakistani Foreign Minister warned that increasing the isolation of Afghanistan would exacerbate the crisis, and have regional and global repercussions.
Pakistan has also called on governments, including the US, to allow development aid to flow into Afghanistan, to prevent economic collapse.
During the meeting, Pakistan also discussed the idea of Afghanistan joining the Pakistan-China corridor, a multi-billion dollar infrastructure project with China, which comes under the umbrella of the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative, which reflects the extent of Pakistani support for Afghanistan's economy, which is the most prominent threat to the Taliban rule.
Endorsement
The "Troika-Plus" meeting implicitly approved the Taliban government and sought to influence it by offering it economic incentives in return for responding to the demands of the countries concerned, specifically disengagement, or at least curtailing the terrorist groups present on its soil, and the establishment of an inclusive government. and respect for human rights, which means that if the Taliban meets these conditions, it can be recognized as a legitimate government.
It seems that the movement is ready to meet some conditions, specifically fighting ISIS, in exchange for economic support.
• Some analyzes indicate the continued exclusion of women from Afghan public life, as most female employees in the public sector are still prevented from returning to work, in addition to the continued absence of girls in most parts of the country from secondary schools.
• Fundamental differences between the “Taliban” and the international parties, regarding the concept of inclusive government, where representatives of the movement indicated that hundreds of thousands of civil servants have resumed work, which gives the government enough of a comprehensive character, and this is fundamentally different from the concept of international parties of the inclusive government. Which is based on the idea of representing different minorities in the government, in order to achieve the stability of the political system.
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