AFGHAN ENVOY TO UN TERMS COUNTRY’S FUTURE ‘BLEAK AND OPAQUE’

Naseer Ahmad Faiq, Charge d’Affaires of Afghanistan Permanent Mission to the UN, said that the prospects for a prosperous and secure Afghanistan are “bleak and opaque”, local media reported.

The Afghan official expressed the concerns during a UNSC session and said that the people have been affected by the combined effects of several natural disasters and “man-made catastrophes,” which have led to Kabul experiencing the worst social, political, and humanitarian crisis, Khaama Press reported. After the Taliban came to power, acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi in a letter to the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres introduced Suhail Shaheen as Afghanistan’s ambassador to the UN. However, a nine-member committee of the UN, which included Russia and China, postponed the decision to consider allowing the Taliban to take the control of the seat. The UNSC session was focused on the social and economic situation in Afghanistan. During the session, Faiq discussed the “systematic erasure” of women and girls from society and public life, pointing out that during Taliban regime, Afghan women and girls are denied their basic rights.