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Potzel calls on Western nations to reopen their embassies in Kabul
The UN Secretary General's deputy special representative for Afghanistan, Markus Potzel, has called on Germany and other Western countries to reopen their embassies in Kabul.
Potzel, who was German ambassador to Afghanistan between 2014 and 2016, believes that a diplomatic presence in Kabul would allow for a "better assessment of the situation" rather than from a distance.
"It's difficult to do it from Doha or Berlin," the UN representative has assessed in an interview for RND.
"Germany and other Western countries have interests in Afghanistan, let's not forget that," said Potzel, for whom it would be a good idea for more Western countries to have representation in the Afghan capital again.
Potzel, however, clarified that having a diplomatic legation there does not necessarily imply "recognition of the Taliban (IEA) regime," but rather an interest in a stable Afghanistan in which the Islamic State [Daesh] would not find it easy to develop, he explained.
"The international community has an interest in combating terrorism. It has an interest in ensuring that the people of the country are offered prospects so that there is no repeat of a wave of refugees like the one we saw in 2015. These are all interests that, in my opinion, are worth fighting for and being present on the ground," he stressed.
"The humanitarian situation is precarious. Winter has arrived. People need fuel, they need something to eat, they need medicine (...) On the one hand, we don't want to support the regime, and on the other hand, we don't want to let people down," he added.
This comes meanwhile the reopening of embassies and diplomatic missions of countries in Afghanistan is one of the long-standing wishes of the Islamic Emirate, which has been emphasized many times by government officials, especially by Foreign Minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi.
Pakistan's Special Representative for Afghanistan Mohammad Sadiq announced Friday that his country will provide 4,500 scholarships to Afghans.
These fully funded scholarships are in the fields of medical, engineering, agriculture, and others for graduation, post-graduation, and PhD studies, Sadiq said on X.
This month, over 22,000 applicants will take an online test, followed by interviews for final selection. The entire process will conclude within 45 days.
The envoy said that 33 percent of the scholarship seats are reserved for female students.
The White House has responded to US President-elect Donald Trump's claim that billions of dollars have been sent to the Islamic Emirate-controlled Afghanistan, saying that aid is being sent to the people of the country, not the Islamic Emirate.
“It’s not even believable. Billions of dollars, not millions—billions,” Trump said earlier this week, adding, “We pay billions of dollars to essentially the Taliban in Afghanistan. And that’s given by Biden.”
But White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told the Voice of America that the humanitarian aid sent to Afghanistan is going to the Afghan people, not the IEA.
Earlier, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) strongly rejected claims by Donald Trump that the ruling government is receiving “billions of dollars” from the United States.
Hamdullah Fitrat, the IEA’s deputy spokesman said: “The claims of billions and millions of dollars of aid to the Islamic Emirate from the US side are completely false and we strongly reject them.”
Pakistan's Minister for Federal Education and Professional Training Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui on Thursday said a formal invitation had already been sent to Afghanistan to participate in a conference on girls' education.
The international conference on girls' education in Muslim countries would be held from January 11 to 12 in Islamabad with aims to address challenges and opportunities of women.
Siddiqui expressed the hope that representative from the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) would attend the conference.
Addressing a news conference, the minister said that the conference, jointly organised by the MoFEPT and the Muslim World League (MWL), will be presided over by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
He said the ministry had already sent invitations to 57 counties which was confirmed by 48 countries and added the conference would be attended by leaders, policy makers, diplomats, religious scholars, educationists, and experts from Muslim countries.
The conference's keynote address would be delivered by Nobel Laureate and globally-acclaimed advocate for girls' education Malala Yousafzai, he added.
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