International

Pakistan to recognise Taliban regime after regional consensus

Published

3 years ago

March 19, 2022

FILE - Taliban Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani (C) and Deputy Prime Minister of the Taliban Abdul Salam Hanafi (L) attend a graduation ceremony for new Afghan police recruits at the police academy in Kabul on March 5, 2022. (Photo by Wakil KOHSAR / AFP) (Photo by WAKIL KOHSAR/AFP via Getty Images)

Pakistan will recognise the Taliban regime in Kabul when there’s a consensus, particularly of regional countries, on the issue, says Islamabad’s UN envoy Munir Akram.

The question of recognition resurfaced on Thursday when the UN Security Council voted to establish formal ties with the Taliban-run Afghanistan without extending diplomatic recognition to the regime. Fourteen of the council’s 15 members voted for the resolution while Russia abstained.

Russian Ambassador Vassily A. Nebenzia said he was compelled to abstain because attempts to secure consent from the host country for a UN presence were ignored. Chinese Ambassador Zhang Jun said that since August 2021, when the Taliban captured Kabul, Afghanistan had entered a new phase and more flexibility was needed to deal with the situation.

Although Pakistan was the first nation to call for more flexibility in dealing with Kabul’s new rulers, Islamabad too has not recognised the Taliban regime.

Ambassador Akram says UN resolution has one shortcoming: there’s no reference to the de facto government in Afghanistan

Asked if the UN vote would influence Pakistan’s position on this issue, Ambassador Akram said: “We will do it (recognition) when there’s a consensus, especially among regional countries.”

Six of Afghanistan’s immediate neighbours are meeting in China next month and this would be one of the top issues on their agenda. China, Iran, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan will attend the meeting. A Taliban delegation will also participate.

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Russia, although not an immediate neighbour, was invited to the previous meeting and may attend this meeting as well. India, however, has not been invited.

Ambassador Akram said the UN resolution, adopted on Thursday, had one shortcoming: “There’s no reference to the de facto government in Afghanistan,” although it does mention the need to work with relevant authorities.

Apparently, France and India opposed any reference to the de facto authorities and managed to keep it out of the mandate.

The UN mission in Afghanistan, Ambassador Akram said, “should be acting with the consent and cooperation of the local authorities and its absence, in our view, is a shortcoming of the mandate”.

The Pakistani envoy, however, acknowledged that the resolution has reaffirmed donors’ commitment to Afghanistan and underlined the need for providing unconditional humanitarian assistance to the country.

Since August 2021, the UN Secretary General has launched a $4.4 billion appeal for helping Afghanistan while a separate appeal for $3.4bn was also launched to meet the country’s basic needs. The second fund covers reconstruction, education, health, and Afghan businesses. But this additional fund is conditional on the Afghans responding to the wishes of the international community.

Ambassador Akram pointed out that the UN resolution also emphasises the need to unfreeze Afghanistan’s assets held in the United States.

Apparently, China’s UN mission negotiated the issue with American officials and persuaded them to unfreeze the entire $7bn, instead of the half suggested by US President Joe Biden in February this year.

The Pakistani envoy noted that the resolution gave an extensive mandate to the UN mission in Afghanistan — from human rights and humanitarian assistance to promoting political inclusivity.

“It remains to be seen whether the mission will be able to implement this extensive mandate,” he said.

DAWN

Related Topics:consensus Pakistan regime regional Taliban

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Israeli strikes pound central Beirut, suburbs

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November 26, 2024

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BEIRUT: Israeli strikes pounded a densely-populated part of the Lebanese capital and its southern suburbs on Tuesday, hours ahead of an anticipated announcement of a ceasefire ending hostilities between Israel and Lebanese armed group Hezbollah.

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Over $100m wasted, Trump mocks Democrats for targeting him

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November 26, 2024

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Former U.S. President Donald Trump has fiercely criticised the legal cases brought against him, calling them “empty and lawless”.

He accused Democrats of weaponising the judicial system to target him as a political opponent.

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Trump also accused Willis of colluding with Nathan Wade, whom he described as “her lover” and lacking the experience to handle such cases.

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US-based Nigerians get 30-year sentence over $3.5m romance scam

Published

11 hours ago

November 26, 2024

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US-based Nigerians get 30-year sentence over $3.5m romance scam

A United States federal jury sentenced two Nigerians, Anthony Ibekie and Samuel Aniukwu, to 30 years in prison for scamming certain US citizens $3,500,000.

This was mentioned in a news statement made public on the US Department of Justice website on Monday.

According to the statement, the Nigerians, Ibekie and Aniukwu mislead their victims by informing them that they had received big inheritances that required payment to claim.

The couple would then ask their victims to transfer money, promising to refund them after the inheritances were claimed.

It also stated that the duo carried out romance scams by establishing romantic relationships with their victims and demanding them to send money after they had built trust in their victims.

It read, “An undercover law enforcement investigation has resulted in federal prison sentences for two Nigerian nationals residing in the Chicago suburbs who conducted online inheritance scams and other fraud schemes.

“Using aliases, Anthony Emeka Ibekie and Samuel Aniukwu communicated with victims throughout the United States, convincing them they had received substantial inheritances and needed to send money to individuals associated with the defendants in order to claim it.

“In addition to the inheritance scam, the pair carried out an online romance scam that involved communicating with victims via social media and dating websites, building trust with the victims through a purported online romance, and convincing them to send money to a predetermined recipient. Aniukwu and Ibekie also orchestrated a ‘business email compromise’ scam that targeted corporate email accounts.

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“The fraud schemes were uncovered by a covert law enforcement investigation. The scams resulted in losses to victims of at least $3.5 million.”

According to the statement, after being arraigned on 14 charges, the duo pleaded guilty to their different alterations.

Following their guilty pleas, Ibekie was sentenced to 20 years in prison on Thursday, and Aniukwu was sentenced to 10 years in prison on November 8.

The statement continued, “A federal jury earlier this year convicted Ibekie, 59, of Oswego, Illinois, on all 14 counts of wire fraud, mail fraud, money laundering, making false statements to a bank, and passport fraud. U.S. District Judge Steven C. Seeger on Thursday sentenced Ibekie to 20 years in federal prison.

“Aniukwu, 50, of Romeoville, Illinois, pleaded guilty last year to wire fraud and money laundering charges. Judge Seeger on Nov. 8, 2024, sentenced Aniukwu to 10 years in prison.”

Meanwhile, Jennifer Gosha, an accomplice of the Nigerians and a US citizen, is expected to be sentenced on December 18 after pleading guilty.

“A third defendant, Jennifer Gosha, 52, a U.S. citizen from Oak Park, Ill., pleaded guilty earlier this year to charges of wire fraud and making false statements to a federal agent. Gosha is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Seeger on December 18, 2024,” the statement concluded.