The Taliban have nominated an ambassador to represent Afghanistan at the United Nations, U.N. officials said Tuesday, injecting a new twist into what was already a delicate diplomatic quandary in the global organization.
The nomination, submitted to Secretary General António Guterres on Monday, sets up a showdown with the envoy of Afghanistan’s toppled government, Ghulam Isaczai, who has so far retained his post.
The showdown may not be resolved soon. But it raised the startling prospect that the Taliban — the violent, extremist Islamic movement that retook power last month as the American-backed government collapsed — would occupy an ambassador’s seat at the United Nations.
Stéphane Dujarric, a spokesman for Mr. Guterres, confirmed a Reuters report that the secretary general had been notified of the Taliban request in a letter signed by Amir Khan Muttaqi, identified as the movement’s foreign minister. The letter stated that the Taliban’s choice of U.N. ambassador was Suhail Shaheen, the movement’s spokesman based in Doha, Qatar.
Source Article from https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/21/world/americas/the-taliban-nominate-a-un-envoy-complicating-a-quandary-for-the-general-assembly.html
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