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Deputy UN chief says IEA only concerned about ‘recognition’
The UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed, who has just wrapped up a two week trip to Afghanistan and the region, told reporters in New York on Wednesday that she had tried to get the voices of Afghan women heard at all her meetings with Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) officials.
According to her, the Islamic Emirate’s only emphasis was on their government being recognized globally and having a representative in the United Nations.
“I know we have to be very careful about recognition based on our criteria, because the road is very narrow and slippery and if you don’t get things right, it will cause a slide,” Mohammed said adding “how can we have the Taliban (Islamic Emirate) in the international community and have them comply with the standards through bargaining?”
According to her, she met with the officials of the Islamic Emirate in Kabul and Kandahar, and in Herat Province she met with a number of women who had lost their jobs as a result of the restrictions of the Islamic Emirate.
She said 30% of the workforce in Afghanistan are women, and non-governmental institutions do not replace women employees with men.
Mohammad said the IEA stated that they “want to keep women away from western culture”.
“They continued to strengthen their beliefs and tried to teach me what human standards are? My answer was that I reminded them that the standards of human rights include eliminating discrimination and that what they are doing is discrimination against every woman and girl,” she said.
She also stated that problems for women and girls were increasing daily in Afghanistan and that essentially she is not sure when the Islamic Emirate will change its strict measures.
But she stressed that the countries around the world, especially Muslim countries, should work to encourage the Islamic Emirate to accept the demands of the international community.
She also stated that two regional delegations, including representatives of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), will visit Afghanistan in mid-March to discuss the right of women to education and work with the authorities of the Islamic Emirate.
Roza Otunbayeva, Head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), recently visited the city of Maimana in northern Afghanistan, where she met with local officials, entrepreneurs, and UN staff.
UNAMA wrote on its Facebook page on Sunday, that during the visit, entrepreneurs — including women — met with Otunbayeva, and requested support to facilitate access to new markets, particularly in Uzbekistan.
UNAMA further stated that among these entrepreneurs was a group of women who, with the support of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), had established a tailoring workshop.
They expressed their appreciation for the support received and spoke about the significant growth and development of their business.
UNAMA added that the organization remains committed to promoting economic opportunities and empowering Afghan communities, especially women.
Anand Prakash, head of the Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan Division of the Indian Ministry of External Affairs, met with Acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi in Kabul for talks on various issues.
According to a press release issued Sunday by the Afghan Foreign Ministry, bilateral political relations, trade, transit and recent political developments in the region were discussed in the meeting.
Muttaqi stressed the need for the expansion of diplomatic and economic relations between the two countries and explained that Afghanistan currently offers favorable opportunities for investment. He said Indian investors should take advantage of these opportunities.
He also said that facilities should be created for the movement of people between Afghanistan and India and the issuance of visas for medical purposes, students and businessmen should return to normal.
Meanwhile, Prakash said that relations with Afghanistan are important for India and he hopes that these relations will expand further in various fields.
He stressed that India will continue its cooperation with Afghanistan and wants to invest in some infrastructure projects and restart projects that were paused for some time.
The two sides also emphasized the expansion of relations, the exchange of delegations, visa facilitation and bilateral cooperation.
Acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi has said in a phone call with his Uzbek counterpart that Afghanistan is fully prepared for the implementation of the Trans-Afghan railway project.
During the call, the two sides discussed strengthening bilateral and multilateral relations, as well as expanding political, economic and transit cooperation, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Kabul said in a statement on Sunday.
Uzbek Foreign Minister Bakhtiyor Saidov noted that Afghanistan’s exports to Uzbekistan have tripled in the first four months of 2025 compared to last year. He vowed to create more facilities in the field of trade and transit between the two countries, especially in issuing visas to Afghan citizens.
Meanwhile, Amir Khan Muttaqi said that Afghanistan is fully prepared for the implementation of major economic projects such as the Trans-Afghan railway project and for the strengthening of political, trade and transit cooperation with Uzbekistan. He said that the existing opportunities should be utilized for the mutual benefit of the two countries.
The two sides also discussed the holding of a trilateral meeting between Afghanistan, Uzbekistan and Pakistan at the level of foreign ministers and agreed to coordinate through diplomatic channels to determine the exact date and place of the meeting.
The three neighboring countries signed an agreement in February 2021 to construct a 573-kilometer railway line through Afghanistan, connecting landlocked Central Asia to Pakistan seaports, with an estimated cost of $4.8 billion to enhance regional economic connectivity.
Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar held a telephone conversation with Uzbek foreign minister last Thursday to discuss the Trans-Afghan railway project.
Dar expressed hope that the three countries would soon sign a framework agreement on this important regional project.
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