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UN engaging with Islamic Emirate on humanitarian aid and other ‘concerns’
Marking the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on the United States on Saturday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the organization is working with the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan to ensure much-needed humanitarian aid gets to needy Afghans across the country.
Guterres said: “The UN has a key role to play in humanitarian aid to a people that is now in a desperate situation. Desperate situation.
“And so, we decided that it was our duty to engage the Taliban (Islamic Emirate), to create the conditions for the possibility of effective humanitarian aid, impartial, to reach all areas and to take into account our concerns in relation to women and girls, for instance, to engage the Taliban, he said.
“What would be positive is to have simultaneously the formation in Afghanistan of an inclusive government – the fact that that government respects international commitments made by the Afghan State, and that a number of the concerns that we have expressed about terrorism, human rights, etc., are taken into account, and that that leads to a normalization of the relations of the international community with Afghanistan.”
Guterres also said he thinks it is essential to find ways “to inject some cash in the Afghan economy to avoid its meltdown”.
He stated that “the war must end; it doesn’t make any sense; there is no military solution. Humanitarian aid needs to reach everybody, everywhere, and it’s not the case at the present moment”.
Guterres’ comments come a day after the World Food Programme stated that 93% of Afghan families are not consuming sufficient food and that three out of four households are using extreme coping mechanisms, such as skipping meals or preferring to give food to children instead of adults.
The WFP conducted a telephone survey from June 17 to September 5, asking 1,600 random households per month about their food habits. The agency reported a “marked difference” between the period up to August 15 and then following August 20.
“The portion of families resorting to extreme coping mechanisms, those are things like skipping meals or preferring to give food to children instead of adults or limiting portion sizes to make food last longer had almost doubled”, WFP’s deputy regional director for Asia and the Pacific, Anthea Webb said.
Afghanistan is facing economic collapse after foreign countries and institutions said they would withhold aid and monetary reserves after the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan took control of Kabul last month.
“It’s now a race against time and the snow to deliver life-saving assistance to the Afghan people who need it most. We need to be reaching nine million people per month by November if we are to meet our planned target of 14 million by the end of the year,” Webb said, urging donors to fill the 200 million dollars’ appeal ahead of an international aid conference for Afghanistan on September 13.
The Islamic Emirate’s Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi has held talks with Bjørn Johansen, Norway’s newly appointed Special Representative for Afghanistan, focusing on political and regional developments.
In the meeting, Johansen said Norway maintains historic ties with Afghanistan and has consistently sought to play a constructive role in supporting stability in the country, Afghan foreign ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.
He noted what he described as noticeable progress in Afghanistan in areas including security, counter-narcotics efforts, and other sectors, adding that further cooperation should be expanded through the normalization of relations with the international community.
Muttaqi, welcomed Norway’s continued engagement and cooperation with the Islamic Emirate, saying that the current stability in Afghanistan should be utilized effectively. He also emphasized that progress made by the Afghan authorities could help broaden future cooperation.
The Government of Slovenia has contributed €200,000 to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) to support humanitarian work in Afghanistan, focusing on reproductive health and protection services for women and girls.
According to UNFPA, the funding will help expand access to essential maternal and reproductive health care across the country, particularly in areas where services remain limited and humanitarian needs are high.
UNFPA said the support will be used to reach vulnerable women and girls with life-saving health assistance and protection services as part of its ongoing response in Afghanistan.
The contribution comes as international aid agencies continue efforts to sustain basic health services amid ongoing economic and humanitarian challenges in the country.
The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan has rejected recent accusations by Pakistani officials claiming that attacks inside Pakistan were planned from Afghan territory, describing the allegations as “baseless.”
Hamdullah Fitrat, Deputy Spokesperson of the Islamic Emirate, said Afghanistan believes regional issues should be addressed through dialogue, mutual respect, and genuine cooperation rather than accusations, emotional rhetoric, or threats.
He reaffirmed that Afghan territory would not be used against any country and stressed that no group or individual would be allowed to carry out activities that threaten regional peace and stability.
The remarks came after Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry reportedly summoned Afghanistan’s Chargé d’Affaires in Islamabad on Monday and handed over a formal protest note regarding an attack on a police post in Bannu district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
Pakistani authorities alleged that the attack had been planned from inside Afghanistan.
According to reports, the explosion occurred on Saturday evening in the Fathkhel area of Bannu, killing 15 police officers and injuring four others, including one civilian.
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