Taliban to UN: Accept our demands and we will participate in the third Doha meeting

The Deputy Prime Minister of the Taliban, Maulvi Abdul Kabir, conveyed to UN Deputy Secretary General Rosemary DiCarlo in Kabul that the Taliban will only participate in the third Doha meeting if their "position" is accepted. Kabir emphasized that Afghanistan is entirely under the Taliban's control, stating that the country "has an emir and is obeyed." He expressed that the previous Doha meeting was incomplete due to the organizers' shortcomings and insisted that the Islamic Emirate's position must be acknowledged for the Taliban to attend the next meeting.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres had previously expressed regret over the Taliban's non-participation in the Doha meeting. However, he also noted that accepting the Taliban's demands would equate to recognizing the group as the legitimate government of Afghanistan. The Taliban is pushing for international and UN recognition as the official government of Afghanistan.