Canada has no plans to recognise Taliban as official Afghan govt, says Justin Trudeau

Amid the ongoing pandemonium in Afghanistan, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in a statement Tuesday, August 17 denied recognizing the Taliban as Afghanistan's government. PM Trudeau while speaking to the reporters said, Canada has no plans to recognize the Taliban as the Government of Afghanistan.

Speaking to reporters on day three of the federal election campaign, Trudeau reminded Canadians that 20 years ago, Canada also didn’t recognize the terrorist organization as a government when they took over.

“They have taken over and replaced a duly elected democratic government by force, they are a recognized terrorist organization under Canadian law. Our focus right now is on getting people out of Afghanistan and the Taliban need to ensure free access to people to get to the airport,” he said.

This comes after the international community had reacted to the terrifying situation unfolding in Afghanistan. Some countries including the US, UK and Canada have denied recognizing the Taliban government formed by muzzling the incumbent government using arms and weapons. Meanwhile, some other countries like Pakistan, Russia, Turkey, and China have appreciated the Taliban’s regime.

Russia says Afghanistan is in 'better hands' now

Meanwhile, earlier Russia claimed that Afghanistan was safer in the hands of the Taliban. Lashing out at the US' 'hegemony', Russia alleged that it was due to the strengthening of the political positions of Russia and China. Stating that Russia had foreseen the Taliban takeover, Russian President Vladimir Putin's special representative on Afghanistan Zamir Kabulov said that Russia had been in talks with the Taliban for the past seven years. Russia apart from China and Pakistan has already offered friendly relations with the Taliban government in Afghanistan, in spite of the UN imploring nations to not do so. 

"The situation is peaceful and good and everything has calmed down in the city. The situation in Kabul now under the Taliban is better than it was under (President) Ashraf Ghani. Yesterday, the regime fell like a house of cards. There was a feeling of disorder, a power vacuum, and looters came out on the streets," said Russia's ambassador to Afghanistan Dmitry Zhirnov, in a conversation with Moscow's Ekho Moskvy radio station. This comes after the Taliban moves forward to establish its rule in the country.

The current situation in Afghanistan

The Taliban has now taken over the country since President Ashraf Ghani fled on Sunday. Currently, chaos remains in most parts of the country, as the terrorist group runs free will in the war-ridden country. Thousands of Afghani citizens are currently at the Kabul airport in the hopes of finding a ticket to another country. Cases of deaths have also been reported from the airport, which is now open only for emergency purposes. 
However, on Tuesday, senior Taliban leader Amir Khan Muttaqi is said to be in the Afghan capital, negotiating with Kabul's political leadership, including Abdullah Abdullah, who once headed the country's negotiating council and former President Hamid Karzai. The official says the talks that are underway in the Afghan capital are aimed at bringing other non-Taliban leaders into the government. Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen has said that this will be an inclusive Afghan government. In another major development in Afghanistan, the former Vice President Amrullah Saleh has declared an unrestricted fight against the Taliban. 

Image: AP