The Taliban insurrection group has sent a delegation led by acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi on Sunday to Oslo, Norway, for three days of talks with Western officials and Afghan civil society representatives in an attempt to legitimize the Afghan government.
The situation comes as Afghan residents continue to struggle under a deteriorating humanitarian situation in their home country. The closed-door meeting was taking place at a hotel in the snow-capped mountains just above the Norwegian capital. The discussions are the first time since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan in August that their representatives have held official meetings in Europe.
Closed-Door Discussions
But the announcement of the talks has drawn criticism over the debate of whether Western officials plan to legitimize the Taliban government. Furthermore, the situation comes as the talks were being held in Norway, which is a NATO country that was involved in Afghanistan from 2001 until the insurrection group took over last summer.
Taliban delegate Shafiullah Azzam spoke at the end of the first day of talks and said that the meetings with Western officials were a "step to legitimize [the] Afghan government. The official added that the meetings were the type of invitation and communication that will help the European community, the U.S., or many other countries to erase the wrong impression of the Afghan government, the Associated Press reported.
The talks will include officials pushing on the Taliban delegation related to their promises of upholding human rights in Afghanistan. The situation comes as the insurrection group requests the return for access to billions of dollars in frozen humanitarian aid.
It was discovered that the West had leverage over the Taliban that was worth nearly $10 billion in Afghan money that was held predominantly in the United States. It is believed that Muttaqi will try to use some of the money to pay civil servants' salaries to ensure that there is enough food across the nation.
Another issue that could be talked about in the discussions is the promises of the Taliban related to women's rights, girls' education, and civil liberties. These issues are things that the insurrection group has yet to deliver, Aljazeera reported.
Afghan Government
Just before the beginning of the talks in Norway, the Taliban's deputy minister of culture and information posted a voice message on Twitter. The official said that the recording was from Muttaqi and was where he expressed his hopes of a "good trip full of achievements."
The official also expressed his gratitude to Norway, which he called a country that will hopefully become a "gateway for a positive relationship with Europe." The United Nations has successfully managed to provide for some liquidity and allowed the new administration to pay for imports, such as electricity.
However, the UN warned that there were as many as one million Afghan children that were at risk of dying from starvation. Officials added that the majority of Afghanistan's 38 million residents were living below the poverty line. In a statement, the Norwegian Foreign Ministry said that the Taliban delegation was also scheduled to meet with Afghans in Norway, Politico reported.
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