Taliban far away from gaining recognition

The Taliban have taken the control of entire Afghanistan on Aug. 15 and the past two months have proven that the new rulers of the war-torn must do more to get the recognition they are seeking.

Firstly, the Taliban failed to form an inclusive government, a criticism that was voiced during the G20 extraordinary leaders’ summit on Oct. 12 hosted by Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi. Almost all the leaders have repeated that the Taliban will be judged by their deeds, not only words, as Draghi stressed that it did not make a good debut so far.

Second, the Taliban could not stop the terrorist acts in the country and there were already three main incidents that killed scores of people in different parts of Afghanistan. The terror groups having different ideological grounds and objectives protect their privileged status and remain to be a threat for both Afghanistan and the world. The regional countries, including Russia, are expressing concerns that the new version of ISIL is massing in the country.

Third, the Taliban have imposed new bans on social life, restricting women’s participation in labor and education despite the promises given by the leadership. The group has failed to establish an order in the country as almost all armed Taliban members continue to act in a self-ordained way.

Still, the G20 members expressed their continued support to Afghanistan in a bid to avoid a major humanitarian crisis that can trigger a new refugee influx towards the West. That requires involvement with the Taliban, although they failed to show progress so far.

The group’s surprising visit to Ankara came after the Taliban’s first substantial meeting with the United States in Doha. Different Taliban representatives met other countries, like Russia and China, too.

In a statement after the visit, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan stressed that the Taliban are seeking to be recognized by the world countries and that’s why they came to Ankara, which has been sending warm messages to the new rulers of Afghanistan.

Three messages are given to the Taliban by Ankara. Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu repeated that the international community was demanding an “inclusive government” from the Taliban. The government should include well-respected and known Afghan politicians for better communication and cooperation, Ankara says.

Secondly, Turkey will continue to provide humanitarian aid to Afghanistan as the Turkish Red Crescent delivered an important amount of essential aid material last week. Erdoğan stressed that Turkey has always stood with the Afghan people and that this will not change in the coming period.

Third, Turkey repeated that it might bear the responsibility of running Kabul International Airport with Qatar should there be an agreement with Afghanistan. The talks in Ankara also focused on how to provide security to the airport and its surrounding area so that commercial flights can resume safely.

As repeated by Erdoğan at the G20 summit, Turkey sees the risk of a fresh influx from Afghanistan if the Afghan people feel that they are totally left to their fate. That’s why humanitarian and political engagement with Afghanistan is more than necessary, although the Taliban are not at a point to get the recognition it seeks from the world.