UN-led Doha meeting on Afghanistan Begins -India is part of the meeting

New Delhi: Two-day United Nation-led Doha meeting on the situation in Afghanistan begins on May 1 and is attended by representatives of around two dozen countries. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is chairing the meeting.

Countries that are participating include India, China, United Arabs Emirate, France, Germany, Indonesia, Iran, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Norway, Pakistan, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, Türkiye, Turkmenistan, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Uzbekistan, European Union and the Organisation of Islamic.

However, the meeting has no representative of the ruling government of Afghanistan.

On the eve of the meeting, the United Nations Secretary-General renewed a call for Afghanistan's Taliban to remove curbs on women's rights to work and education.

"Reversing all measures that restrict women's rights to work is key to reaching the millions of people in Afghanistan that require humanitarian assistance," Guterres tweeted late Saturday.

UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said, "hosting with special envoys on Afghanistan to reach points of commonality on key issues, such as human rights, especially for women and girls, inclusive governance, countering terrorism and drug trafficking."

He added, "The meeting, which will end tomorrow, is intended to achieve a common understanding within the international community on how to engage with the Taliban on these issues."

The main objective of the meeting is to revive international engagement around common goals for a durable way forward and to identify parameters for creative, flexible, principled, and constructive engagement.

Tolo News agency quoting the ruling Taliban government representative, Bilal Karimi, said, "Kabul expects the meeting to pave the way for the removal of sanctions on Afghanistan and lay out the engagement of the international community with the government."

"In general, in all meetings, discussions should be held on the release of frozen Afghan assets and the removal of restrictions," he said.

Taliban representative in their political office in Doha, Suhail Shaheen, met several of the envoys one-on-one before the meeting.

Earlier, the Taliban spokesperson told reporters that any meeting about Afghanistan without the participation of the Afghan government is ineffective and counterproductive. Given this fact, how can you ensure that the outcome of this meeting could make a difference in the situation in Afghanistan?"

The Secretary-General will provide an update tomorrow on the outcome of this closed-door meeting on what happened during these discussions.

Meanwhile, the deadline for UN staff working from home is approaching (May 5) after the Taliban ban UN women from working for international NGOs and International organisations. The UN will have to decide its fate and operations. The Taliban government has since prohibited women from working for International and domestic NGOs.

Hibatullah Akhundzada, the reclusive chief of the fundamentalist Taliban, has also barred girls from attending schools beyond the sixth grade. Akhundzada has rejected international calls for ending curbs on women and girls, saying he will not allow any foreign interference in his Islamic governance.

Last week, the UN Security Council unanimously condemned the decision by the Taliban to ban Afghan women from working for the United Nations in Afghanistan, calling on the de facto authorities to "swiftly reverse" policies and practices that restrict women and girls from exercising their human rights. The resolution also called for women and girls' full, equal, meaningful, and safe participation in Afghanistan.

It also calls upon the Taliban to "swiftly reverse the policies and practices that restrict the enjoyment by women and girls of their human rights and fundamental freedoms, including related to their access to education, employment, freedom of movement, and women's full, equal and meaningful participation in public life.