Miffed at ouster from UNSC meet, Pakistan FM says India is politicising multilateral forum

With Kabul falling into the hands of the Taliban, the UN Security Council under India's current Presidency held an emergency meeting on the situation in Afghanistan on Monday, the second time in just over a week. The longstanding war in Afghanistan reached a watershed moment on Sunday when the Taliban insurgents closed in on Afghanistan's capital Kabul and entered the city and took over the presidential palace, forcing embattled President Ashraf Ghani to join fellow citizens and foreigners to leave the country.

Now, Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has yet again ranted for not being invited to the UNSC emergency meeting on the Afghanistan crisis. Shah Mahmood Qureshi took to his Twitter handle and expressed his displeasure for not including Pakistan in the UNSC meeting for the second time under India's Presidency.

Expressing his regret, Qureshi wrote that it is unfortunate that Pakistan has been ousted from the UNSC emergency meeting, a 'critical juncture in the destiny of Afghanistan'. Qureshi also stated that after Afghanistan, it is Pakistan that has been a victim of the decades-old war. Miffed for not being invited to the meeting, Qureshi blamed India for 'politicising' the multilateral platform. 

Interestingly, Qureshi remained tight-lipped on Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan recognising the Taliban's legitimacy over Afghanistan. Pakistan PM Imran Khan remarked on Monday, in response to the Taliban's seizure of power in Kabul, saying that the Afghans had finally broken free from slavery. 

The participating nations at the UNSC meeting called for an immediate cease-fire and stopping for basic human rights abuse by the Taliban. In fact, the United Kingdom accused the Taliban of breaking its promise to co-operate with the peace talks. 

Pakistan clarifies its stance on Taliban

Responding to the query on whether Pakistan recognises the Taliban as the government in Afghanistan, Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the United Nations, Munir Akram said, "I think the Taliban has said that they will accept inclusive government. They wish to have a government that represents all groups in Afghanistan and we would like to take them at their word."

"We are working towards that end, that's why we have invited the representatives of non-pashtun Afghanistan parties in Islamabad today. We are talking to them. They agreed to engage to Taliban to form an inclusive authority and we hope our efforts and efforts of other friends will be successful," added Munir Akram. 

The United Kingdom (UK) during the UNSC clearly stated that the international communities will not recognise the Taliban's legitimacy until they don't stop their human rights abuses on the people of Afghanistan.

(Image Credits: @AP/@UNAMAnews)