The United Nations spokesperson for the secretary-general Stéphane Dujarric has downplayed the absence of many special envoys at their meeting with Afghan civil society representatives in Doha on Tuesday.

Dujarric said the UN is not in a position to tell country representatives which meeting to attend.

This comes after the UN Under-Secretary General Rosemary DiCarlo met separately with civil society members on Tuesday after the two-day special envoys meeting on Afghanistan in Doha wrapped up Monday.

Afghan women and civil society representatives had been barred from the formal two-day meeting, which included a delegation from the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA).

Dujarric also stated the third Doha meeting had not been an intra-Afghan meeting.

The exclusion of women and civil society representatives from the formal meeting had become a topic of debate over the past few days with critics lashing out at the UN for not having demanded clear and measurable steps toward the restoration and protection of women’s rights as a crucial initial step toward engagement.

The Diplomat reports that instead, UN leadership has shown it is prepared to treat the fundamental human rights of half of Afghanistan’s population as a mere afterthought.

Dujarric meanwhile said that each special envoy could talk about human rights, women’s rights and the issue of drugs.

He added that DiCarlo and Roza Otunbayeva, head of UNAMA, had raised the issue of women in the formal meeting and in their previous meetings in Kabul with the Islamic Emirate.

Dujarric emphasized that the issue of women and human rights is something that the United Nations deals with every day and is at the top of all the discussions of this organization.

On Tuesday, DiCarlo said at a press conference that there “really is a need to build trust on all sides”.

She said it was important to have dialogue “that’s built on honesty”.

“It’s got to be based on principles, those of the UN Charter, and various human rights treaties that Afghanistan is a party to.”

She also stated: “Human rights and especially the rights of women and girls , and inclusion of all members of society will continue to be an integral part of our discussions.”

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Pakistan’s Minister of Defense Khawaja Asif has said Islamabad will continue to launch attacks against Afghanistan as part of a new military operation aimed at countering terrorism.

In an interview with BBC, Asif said Pakistan was targeting groups which Pakistan accuses of carrying out attacks on security forces and civilians, including the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) group.

Islamabad has in the past accused Afghanistan of harboring groups such as TTP. However, the ruling Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan has repeatedly said it will not allow any group to threaten the security of another country from Afghanistan.

The IEA has also described the strikes as violations of its sovereignty.

“It’s correct that we have been carrying out operations in Afghanistan, and we will continue to do so. We won’t serve them with cake and pastries. If attacked, we’ll attack back,” Asif told BBC.

In addition he said Pakistan did not forewarn the IEA of impending strikes. “This would eliminate the element of surprise. Why should we tell them, ‘get ready, we are coming’?”

The IEA meanwhile responded by saying the statement was “irresponsible”, BBC reported.

Asif went on to say the IEA has been reluctant to take action against the TTP, despite Islamabad’s requests.

This comes after Pakistan’s recent announcement of a renewed military crackdown to curb violence and attacks in the country.

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International envoys raised concerns about restrictions on women and girls in Afghanistan during meetings with the Islamic Emirate in Qatar, United Nations’ political affairs chief Rosemary DiCarlo said on Monday.

“Running through all the discussions was the deep international concern – from special envoys and from me – about the ongoing and serious restrictions on women and girls,” DiCarlo said in a statement.

“Afghanistan cannot return to the international fold, or fully develop economically and socially, if it is deprived of the contributions and potential of half its population,” she added.

The two-day, U.N.-led meeting was the first of its kind attended by the IEA.

Meanwhile, US State Department said US envoys participated in the meeting after receiving assurances from the UN that the discussion would meaningfully address human rights, particularly the plight of women and girls, and that there would be opportunities for engagement with Afghan women and civil society.

US State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel said that US envoy Thomas West made clear that the primary reason private banks have reservations about doing more business in Afghanistan is reputational, and that it is rooted in the IEA’s human rights conduct.

“We know that the Taliban (IEA) often complains about sanctions, but given the broad general license issued by the Treasury Department, relief organizations as well as businesses have the leeway they need to support the Afghan people,” he said.

Russian envoy to UN, Vasily Nebenzya, reiterated that the world should recognize the fact that IEA is running Afghanistan.

“Taliban is de facto authorities on Afghanistan, and we’ve been saying consistently that you have to recognize this fact and deal with them as such. Because whether you like it or not, but this movement is running the country now. And you cannot simply ignore that,” he said.

Envoys have raised concern about women’s rights in Afghanistan, despite IEA saying it is an internal issue.

IEA’s spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid who led the delegation in Doha, says that women’s rights issue will be resolved with time.

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