Taliban heading in wrong direction, says German FM

KABUL (Pajhwok): German Foreign Minister AnnalenaBaerbock has promised continued humanitarian aid to the people of Afghanistan

Addressing media persons in Islamabad, FM Baerbock said: “Germany would continue to provide humanitarian aid and support to the people who need it, especially women and girls.”

"It is not the mistake of the people that the Taliban overthrew the government and since then have tightened their grip on Afghan society," she said.

She called on the international community to "give a loud and clear message" to the Afghan Taliban that they were "heading in the wrong direction".

The German diplomat warned of the humanitarian crisis brewing in Afghanistan under the Taliban rulers.

"When we look across the border, the situation is dire and the Taliban are taking the country to a downfall," she underlined.

"Parents don't know how to feed their children, girls are deprived of rights to education, women have been shunned from the society, dissenting voices are suppressed and the economy is rendering to a halt.”

"The international community must stand united and tell the Taliban loud and clear that you are heading in the wrong direction. And as long as they go down this path, there is no room for normalisation and even recognition of Taliban as legitimate rulers," Baerbock asserted.

Earlier, Acting Foreign Minister Ameer Khan Muttaqi had said that the incumbent Afghan government’s relationship with other nations was improving with each passing day.

“The government affairs are going in the right direction, with each passing day our diplomatic range is widening, our relationships with the world and regional countries are strengthening and an environment of trust is being created,” he said.

He had said after four decades, an independent government had been established and all government institutions were funded from the local revenue, and administrative and financial corruption was eradicated completely. He added the private sector was also developing each day.

nh/ma