Afghan resistance group urges US, int’l community not to recognize Taliban regime

An anti-Taliban resistance group in Afghanistan has asked the United States and the international community not to recognise the new government announced by the Taliban Islamists on Tuesday.

The National Resistance Front (NRF), in a statement on Wednesday, said the all-male cabinet consisting entirely of Taliban leaders or their associates is “illegal” and should not be recognized.

The NRF said it considered the announcement of the Taliban’s caretaker cabinet “a clear sign of the group’s enmity with the Afghan people”.

The US has also expressed concern that the interim government includes figures linked to terror attacks on US forces and different parts of the world, notably the September 11, 2001 attacks in the US.

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Also worried about the composition of the Taliban interim government is the European Union (EU), which said the Islamist group had reneged on promises to make it “inclusive and representative”.

The interim cabinet is led by Mullah Mohammad Hassan Akhund, who is on a UN blacklist while another key figure, Sirajuddin Haqqani, is wanted by the American FBI.

In a statement, the US state department said it was concerned by the “affiliations and track records of some of the individuals”.
The statement said Washington would “continue to hold the Taliban to their commitments” to allow safe passage for foreign nationals and Afghans with travel documents, “including permitting flights currently ready to fly out of Afghanistan”.

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