Image: Reuters Berita 24 English - Germany will not recognize the Taliban as the legitimate leaders of Afghanistan as long as conditions u...
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| Image: Reuters |
Berita 24 English - Germany will not recognize the Taliban as the legitimate leaders of Afghanistan as long as conditions under the Islamists remain "dire," Germany's foreign minister said on Tuesday, calling for a united international call to the Taliban to change.
Since the Taliban took over Afghanistan last August, when U.S.-backed foreign forces left after 20 years of war, no other country has officially recognized them.
"When we look across the border, the situation is terrible," Annalena Baerbock, a German minister, said at a news conference in Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, which is close by.
She warned of a coming humanitarian and economic crisis in a country where girls were not allowed to go to school, women were not allowed to take part in public life, and voices of dissent were shut down.
"As long as they continue on this path, there is no room for normalization and even less room for recognizing the Taliban as the legitimate leaders of the country," she said, adding that Germany would send humanitarian aid.
Officials from the Taliban deny that they violate people's rights and say they are working to make it possible for girls to go to high school.
Pakistan has called for talks with the Taliban, saying that the world can't afford a humanitarian crisis. For years, Pakistan saw the Taliban as an effective way to stop its old rival India from having power in Afghanistan.
But Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Pakistan's new foreign minister, said that the Taliban should pay attention to the rights and security concerns of the international community.
He said, "We hope that the Afghan government will meet the expectations of the international community when it comes to respecting the human rights of all Afghans, including women, and taking effective steps against terrorism."
Baerbock called for everyone to work together to put pressure on the Taliban.
She said, "The whole world needs to stand together and tell the Taliban loud and clear that they are going in the wrong direction."
Baerbock also said that Germany and Pakistan had made it easier for Afghan refugees to get to Germany through Pakistan, and that in the past few months, more than 14,000 Afghans who were in danger had been able to travel to Germany.
Later, ntv said that Baerbock was going to cut short her trip to Pakistan because she had tested positive for the coronavirus. Her ministry said it was true.
