By Nizamuddin Rezahi in Khaama Press online, Feb 8, 2023
Russia hosted the fifth round of meetings of National Security Advisors of regional countries on Afghanistan starting on Wednesday in Moscow.
National Security Advisors of Iran, India, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, China, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan were among the participants.
The Moscow security meeting was held in the absence of the representative of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, although Taliban spokesperson Zabiullah Mujahid had asked the member countries to allow the IEA envoy to the meeting.
The fifth round of meetings of National Security Advisors comes as the security situation in Afghanistan is rapidly deteriorating and has already led to the closure of several foreign embassies in Kabul.
Earlier in the week, Saudi Arabia evacuated its diplomats to Islamabad, mainly due to several security threats in the Afghan capital Kabul. Following Saudi Arabia’s move, the United Arab Emirates and Turkey have on Wednesday decided to minimize their diplomatic activities and move out their diplomats from Kabul.
The fourth round of the meeting of the Heads of Security Councils of regional states was held nine months ago in Dushanbe, Tajikistan on May 27, 2022. In that meeting, they asked the Taliban to form an inclusive government in Afghanistan, which has not yet been fulfilled by the Taliban regime.
Amid the many challenges, the Taliban-run administration is plagued with political isolation. This is a wake-up call for Afghanistan’s de facto authorities as foreign embassies have already started closing their diplomatic missions in Kabul.
The caretaker government is still struggling to gain internal legitimacy and international recognition. Due to major security threats and the tough policies regarding women’s freedom to get an education, work, and appear in public places, the ruling regime has come under massive criticism from the international community, donors, and partners.
https://www.khaama.com/moscow-hosts-security-meeting-on-afghanistan-without-iea-representative/
