KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 23 (NNN-Bernama) — Malaysia should take a “wait and see” approach before deciding whether to recognise or not a Taliban-led government, following the wresting of power by the movement after toppling the Western-backed government of former president Mohammad Ashraf Ghani in a swift campaign amidst a chaotic withdrawal of US troops from the war-torn country.
Geostrategist Azmi Hassan said the two benchmarks Malaysia should consider before taking a decision on the issue of granting recognition to the Taliban government was whether the Taliban would restore democracy. Secondly, whether or not the radical movement would harbour any terrorist groups on the Afghan soil.
“We need to use these benchmarks before coming to a decision of recognising the new Taliban government. I think the best possible way is “to wait and see”.
He pointed out that so far nothing concrete has been done by the Taliban in terms of administrative matters or forming a government since they took over Kabul, the seat of power on Aug 15.
Azmi was asked what should be Malaysia’s position on Taliban or must Malaysia take a wait and see attitude in recognising the Taliban government due to its past policies and many uncertainties surrounding its current policies.
Ghani left the country on the day Kabul fell saying this was to prevent “a flood of bloodshed”. He is now in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
At their first press conference, Taliban pledged to form an inclusive Islamic government and that they “don’t want to repeat any conflict, any war again” and “don’t want any internal and external enemies”.
Following Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan, the international community have reacted cautiously and are holding off recognising the Taliban government for now.
Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, according to Anadolu Agency (AA), had announced that it will not recognise the Taliban as the legitimate government of Afghanistan, saying that they have taken over and replaced a duly elected democratic government by force and that they are a recognised terrorist organisation under Canadian law.
Meanwhile, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson in a telephone conversation with his Pakistani counterpart Imran Khan, as reported by AA, had stressed that any recognition of the new Afghan government should take place on an international basis, not unilaterally and that “any legitimacy of any future Taliban government will be subject to them upholding internationally agreed standards on human rights and inclusivity”.
On the same issue, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov had said that Moscow was in no hurry to recognise the Taliban as the legitimate government of Afghanistan while France’s Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian was reported by AA as saying that the question of recognising the Taliban regime was irrelevant at present, adding that “when you take power by force, you are not legitimate”.
US President Joe Biden in an interview with ABC was reported as saying that the Taliban must decide whether it wants to be recognised by the international community.
Meanwhile, Xinhua reported China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying telling a press briefing that Beijing encourages and hopes that the Taliban can follow through its positive statements, unite with all parties and ethnic groups in Afghanistan, establish a broadly-based, inclusive political framework that fits the national conditions and wins public support through dialogue and consultation as soon as possible, and adopt moderate and prudent domestic and foreign policies.
This is the second time in 20 years Taliban is in a position to run the country of some 38 million people after ruling the war-torn country between 1996-2001 until it was ousted by the US-led forces in 2001 following the Sept 11, 2001, al-Qaeda’s terrorist attacks on the United States.
Afghanistan was a safe haven for the al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups during Taliban’s brutal rule in that period of time and it was widely condemned by the international community due to its worst records on human rights and women’s rights, something which still haunts the Taliban till today.
Previous Afghan governments have blamed the Taliban for many attacks targetting civilians and civilian facilities such as the attack on hospitals, schools and wedding ceremonies.
The US has listed Taliban as a “Specially Designated Global Terrorist”.
During its rule, the Taliban which originated as a movement of religious students, imposed laws among others banning girls from schools, preventing women from working and forcing men to grow beards. Music, videos and other entertainment as well as human photography was also prohibited by the Taliban. The group is also known for its involvement in the drug trade.
During its previous rule only three countries recognised the Taliban as the legitimate government, namely Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). At that time Malaysia recognised the Northern Alliance government.
Meanwhile, Azmi was also asked whether Taliban’s ascension to power will have global security implications through its possible ties with any other terrorist groups which by now could be emboldened and inspired by Taliban’s success, as reports have emerged about jubilation by some terror groups over Taliban’s victory.
According to Azmi, as members of Taliban’s previous leadership are still within the group, they would have learnt from past mistakes of harbouring terrorist groups.
Azmi stressed that it was no advantage to them to repeat past mistakes as it will be detrimental to the interests of the group as well as of the country.
He said more than ever Taliban now needs to cooperate and work with the international community to seek legitimacy and recognition and avoid being isolated as before.
“Let’s give them a chance and see what happens in the next few weeks, whether they will keep the promise (not to harbour terrorist groups)… (and prove) that they are not the old Taliban,” he said.
On the question of Taliban which once reportedly provided training to Malaysian students, who initially went to Pakistan to pursue their studies, and as such whether Taliban will be a threat to Malaysia’s security in anyway now as the group is currently in control of Afghanistan, Azmi pointed out that the Taliban have promised not to let Afghanistan become a breeding ground for terrorism and radicalism again, and this should be seen as a positive move.
“I think if that promise is kept… than what happened in 2001 (will not happen again). I think this (the Taliban) is totally different now. I have positive vibes that the Taliban leaders will not harbour terrorist groups. Let’s hope for that,” he said.
Commenting on Taliban’s pledge to respect women’s rights, and whether this can be trusted as reports have emerged about repressive policies being carried out in some parts of the country now, Azmi said that there were challenges but the world should not push Taliban into becoming too extreme like previously.
“Their point of view of what is women’s rights is maybe not enough from our point of view or the Western point of view. The world needs to accept that the Taliban has conservative views on a lot of issues that may not be palatable to the general global population. My point is, in this case, give them a chance first,” he said.
— NNN-BERNAMA
