Human rights, terrorism, educational access: Special envoy says US to continue ‘clear-eyed’ diplomacy with Taliban

ISLAMABAD: The United States Special Representative for Afghanistan, Thomas West, said the Afghan people will remain at the centre of his country’s considerations, while the US will continue ‘clear-eyed’ diplomacy with the Taliban on human rights, terrorism, educational access, and other issues.

West arrived in Islamabad on Saturday to attend the extraordinary session of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM), being held today (Sunday) to discuss the situation in Afghanistan, particularly, the humanitarian aspect.

“Pleased to be in Islamabad for an extraordinary session of the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers, focused on the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan. A timely and important initiative,” West stated in a tweet upon his arrival.

In a series of tweets, the US special envoy stated that he had spoken with Senator Bob Menendez, chairman of the US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, and its ranking member Senator Jim Risch, “both of whom bring deep experience and perspective to the way ahead in Afghanistan”.

“I also got critical advice from a range of implementers of urgent humanitarian programming across Afghanistan, including ICRC, NRC, IMC, and UN partners. Their work is saving lives - we must help them scale up and make adjustments where they face uncertainty about US policy,” he stated in a tweet.

In yet another tweet, the US special envoy stated: “While we continue clear-eyed diplomacy with the Taliban - on human rights, terrorism, and educational access, among many other issues - the Afghan people will remain at the centre of our considerations.”

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021