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Afghan minister wants good relations, needs more time on girls’ education

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Afghanistan’s foreign minister appealed to the world for good relations on Monday but avoided making firm commitments on girls’ education despite international demands to allow all Afghan children to go back to school.

Almost two months after the former Western-backed government collapsed and the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) swept into Kabul, the new administration has pushed to build relations with other countries to help stave off a catastrophic economic crisis.

“The international community need to start cooperating with us,” acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi said at an event organized by Center for Conflict and Humanitarian Studies at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies. “With this we will be able to stop insecurity and at the same time with this we will be able to engage positively with the world.”

But the IEA have so far not decided on allowing girls to return to high school, one of the key demands of the international community after a decision last month that schools above the sixth grade would only reopen for boys.

Muttaqi said the Islamic Emirate government was moving carefully but had only been in power for a few weeks and could not be expected to complete reforms the international community had not been able to implement in 20 years.

“They had a lot of financial resources and they had a strong international backing and support but at the same time you are asking us to do all the reforms in two months,” he said.

U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres said the IEA had broken promises on guaranteeing rights for women and girls and there was no way the economy could be fixed if women were barred from work.

Muttaqi repeated calls for the United States to lift a block on more than $9 billion of Afghan central bank reserves held outside the country but said the government had revenues of its own from taxes, customs tariffs and agriculture if the funds remain frozen.

He said IEA forces had full control of the country and were able to control the threat from Islamic State (Daesh) militants who have claimed a series of deadly attacks in recent weeks, including last week’s bombing at a Shi’ite mosque in the northern city of Kunduz.

“The Daesh issue has been controlled by the Islamic Emirate very well so far,” he said adding that international pressure on the government was helping Islamic State’s morale.

“Instead of pressure the world should cooperate with us.”

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US offers $5 million reward for information on Afghan-American detained by Islamic Emirate

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The United States has announced a reward of up to $5 million for information leading to the location and safe return of Mahmoud Habibi, an Afghan-American businessman who was detained by the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan’s (IEA) intelligence agency nearly two years ago.

The offer, issued through the State Department’s Rewards for Justice program on Monday, underscores growing concern over Habibi’s fate.

He was arrested on August 10, 2022, in Kabul. A former head of Afghanistan’s civil aviation authority under the previous Western-backed government, Habibi was reportedly detained along with his driver and 29 colleagues from a local telecommunications firm.

All but two — Habibi and another unnamed individual — have since been released.

“Mr. Habibi has not been heard from since his initial arrest, and the so-called Taliban (IEA) government has yet to provide any information regarding his whereabouts or condition,” the department’s statement said.

The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, which took power in August 2021 following the withdrawal of U.S. and allied forces, has denied holding Habibi. Despite repeated requests from U.S. officials and international rights organizations, no credible details about his status have emerged.

The Biden and now Trump administrations have made the recovery of U.S. citizens detained abroad a key priority. The reward offer forms part of a broader effort by Washington to pressure the IEA and mobilize public cooperation to help locate Americans detained in conflict zones.

The State Department has urged individuals with relevant information to contact the Rewards for Justice program through secure and anonymous channels.

Habibi’s disappearance remains a sensitive issue in U.S.-IEA relations, with American officials warning that unresolved detentions such as his pose a major obstacle to any meaningful engagement with the current Afghan authorities.

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Washington signals policy shift on Afghanistan during UN Security Council session

However, other Council members urged caution in dealing with the Islamic Emirate.

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The United Nations Security Council held a special session this week to assess the situation in Afghanistan, with international stakeholders offering sharply contrasting views on engagement with the Islamic Emirate-led administration.

The meeting comes amid growing concern over humanitarian conditions, the erosion of women’s rights, and the international community’s fractured approach to the future of the country.

Roza Otunbayeva, head of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), presented the UN’s newly formalized “Mosaic Strategy,” aimed at focused engagement without legitimizing the current political order.

“The goal of this focused engagement is to support the emergence of an Afghanistan that lives in peace with itself and its neighbors, adheres to international obligations, reintegrates into the global community, and avoids a return to cycles of violence,” Otunbayeva told the Security Council.

She warned that the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan’s (IEA) continued ban on girls’ education threatens to deepen Afghanistan’s international isolation. “Policies that restrict the rights of women and girls represent a major obstacle to Afghanistan’s reintegration into the international system,” she said.

Sima Bahous, Executive Director of UN Women, echoed those concerns, stating that women’s full participation is essential to achieving lasting peace and legitimacy.

“Without full and active inclusion of women, no sustainable stability or real progress can be achieved in political or humanitarian efforts,” she noted.

Amid this backdrop, U.S. Ambassador Dorothy Shea confirmed that Washington is reassessing its policy on Afghanistan.

“Nearly four years have passed since the Taliban (IEA) took control, yet the situation remains dire,” she said.

Shea emphasized that the Trump administration’s renewed strategy will center on securing U.S. interests, including the protection of American citizens, the mitigation of terrorism threats, and the release of detained Americans.

“Our approach to assistance has not been sustainable and has failed to yield the intended results,” Shea stated. “It is now time for the Taliban to perform.”

Her remarks signaled a shift toward more conditional, outcome-based engagement and away from open-ended commitments.

However, other Council members urged caution in dealing with the Islamic Emirate.

China’s envoy Geng Shuang called for a more pragmatic approach, warning against politicizing humanitarian aid and cautioning that women’s rights should not be the sole barometer of international engagement.

“We must respect Afghanistan’s traditions and realities,” Geng said, “and avoid imposing excessively strict demands.”

Qatar’s representative announced plans to host two key working group meetings under the Doha Process from June 30 to July 1. These sessions—on counter-narcotics and private sector development—will include representatives of the IEA, suggesting an ongoing track of technical engagement even amid diplomatic caution.

The Council session laid bare the growing divisions over how best to handle Afghanistan’s future: whether to isolate the IEA-led government over human rights violations, or to engage pragmatically to maintain stability and prevent a humanitarian collapse.

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Iranian envoy calls for Afghan solidarity amid escalating war with Israel

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