Taliban welcome EU office reopening announcement

KABUL: The Islamic Emirate on Monday welcomed the reopening of the European Union’s office in Kabul, saying that the step could be the beginning of engagement with European countries.

“The decision of the European Union to reopen its office in the near future is a good step and it is in the interest of the people of Afghanistan,” said Ahmadullah Wasiq, deputy spokesman for the Islamic Emirate. “They will evaluate their work from the vicinity.” According to a report in the Financial Times, the European Union is considering restarting its political activities in a limited way in Kabul. The report said that the move is not intended to recognize the current government in Afghanistan. “As we have repeatedly said, this is not a sign of recognition. We want to be able to better assist the Afghan people who need our help by being closer and, inevitably, we need to engage with the Taliban,” said Nabila Massarali, EU spokesperson.

With the collapse of the former government and the Taliban takeover, Western countries suspended their missions in Afghanistan. However, some of the Western countries shifted their diplomatic activities to Qatar’s capital of Doha. “They should lobby for the human rights and the rights of women and press the Taliban and also continue aid to prevent the humanitarian crisis,” said Wali Frozan, a political analyst.

Abdul Qahar Balkhi, the foreign ministry’s spokesman, said in a tweet on Monday that the Islamic Emirate would guarantee the security of the European countries’ embassies and personnel.

“Resumption of EU mission in Afghanistan is sound and a positive step which we welcome. Just as security of other embassies in Kabul is guaranteed, the security of EU Embassy & personnel will also be guaranteed,” he said. The Financial Times writes that the European Union sought to resume operations within a month.

“I hope the Taliban can fulfil the expectation of the world countries and European Union, thus we can engage with the world,” said Jawid Sangdel, an international relations expert. Based on the reports, a delegation of the European Union visited Kabul last month to assess whether they would be able to resume their activities in Kabul or not. The EU is concerned that it would not be able to properly implement its package of one billion Euro aid to the people of Afghanistan without having an actual mission in Kabul.