United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, Rosemary DiCarlo has welcomed the “fruitful start” to the third meeting of special envoys on Afghanistan in the Qatari capital Doha.

Dicarlo noted on X that it is the first time “such a cross section of the international community and the Taliban (Islamic Emirate) meet.”

“Look forward to principled engagement to help the people of Afghanistan in many areas. And we thank Qatar for its support,” she said.

Meanwhile, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs of Qatar Mohammed bin Abdulaziz bin Saleh Al Khulaifi said at the opening session of the meeting that the participation of the IEA in the meeting provides an important opportunity to conduct a meaningful dialogue regarding collective efforts to address the current challenges facing Afghanistan.

He said that the ultimate goal is to support the Afghan people and achieve peace and prosperity in Afghanistan so that it contributes positively to regional and global stability.

Meanwhile, Suhail Shaheen, head of the political office of the Islamic Emirate in Qatar, told Ariana News that the expectation of the Islamic Emirate from the third meeting in Doha is that the world should understand the realities of Afghanistan and abandon the policy of pressure and confrontation.

Representatives of 25 countries including the United States, European countries, Russia, Pakistan, Iran, Saudi Arabia and India have attended the third Doha meeting on Afghanistan. Representatives of some international organizations have also participated in the meeting.

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Canada’s foreign affairs department said on Saturday it is “extremely disappointed” over the exclusion of non-IEA Afghans from participating in the main sessions of the third UN-led Doha meeting on Afghanistan.

“Canada has clearly expressed for weeks – both privately and in concert with other governments – its grave disappointment about the absence of civil society from Doha III,” it said in a statement.

The statement emphasized that the “full, equal and meaningful participation” of Afghan women in the Doha meeting process is not only a core tenet of the Women, Peace, and Security agenda, but fundamental to achieving a peaceful, stable, and inclusive Afghanistan.

“None of the goals that Afghans are seeking to achieve are possible without the full participation of women,” the statement added.

The statement also stressed the importance of appointing a UN special envoy for Afghanistan to “spearhead the implementation of the roadmap outlined in the UN Special Coordinator’s 2023 report and UN Security Council Resolution 2721.”

Canada reiterated its call for the IEA to honor Afghanistan’s international human rights obligations and lift restrictive measures on women and girls.

This comes as IEA has said that women’s rights is an internal issue which should not be discussed in international meetings. The Islamic Emirate has also repeatedly said women’s rights are upheld in accordance with Sharia law.

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Addressing the third UN-sponsored international meeting on Afghanistan in Doha, the delegation of the Islamic Emirate said on Saturday that differences between countries regarding each other’s policies are “natural” and that the international community should lift the sanctions imposed on Afghanistan.

Zabihullah Mujahid, the spokesman of the Islamic Emirate, who heads the delegation at the Doha meeting, said at the inauguration of the meeting that the process of easing sanctions is “slow-paced” and this has created various challenges for the government and the private sector.

“Afghans, who have been suffering from war and insecurity as a result of foreign invasions and interference for almost half a century, ultimately, gained independence, ended the war and built a system aimed at fostering positive engagement with the world, however, in return they faced sanctions and restrictions,” Mujahid said.

He admitted that some countries have “problems” with some of the measures of the Islamic Emirates, but added that policy differences between states are “natural.”

“The policy differences should not escalate to the extent that powerful countries use their leverage to impose security, political, and economic pressures on our people, affecting the lives of our nation in a significant way,” he said.

Mujahid pointed out that despite the sanctions, the Islamic Emirate banned the cultivation, processing and smuggling of poppy that affected the world.

He also said that those who are directly involved in atrocities in Gaza “lack the moral standing to lecture us on human rights.”

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