RASC News Agency: The Freedom Front of Afghanistan has voiced serious concerns over the upcoming United Nations-led talks in Doha, warning that any engagement with the Taliban in the absence of their political and armed opposition is both unjust and counterproductive. In a sharply worded statement released on Tuesday (25 June), the group reiterated its position that the Taliban neither deserve international engagement nor qualify for recognition as legitimate representatives of the Afghanistani people. The statement criticized the fourth round of UN-sponsored Doha talks scheduled for June 29 and 30 in Qatar as another step toward normalizing a regime founded on repression, exclusion, and gender apartheid. The group warned that, much like the previous sessions, the upcoming gathering risks excluding the very voices that represent the broader Afghanistani population and resistance movement.
“If the United Nations chooses to engage only with the Taliban, it will be engaging with a group that neither reflects the will of the people nor adheres to the basic norms of human rights and governance,” the Freedom Front asserted. “The Taliban are neither reformable nor qualified to speak on behalf of the Afghanistani nation. Dialogue with such a group merely legitimizes a regime grounded in gender-based apartheid and systemic brutality.” The Front welcomed recent remarks by UN officials who, during a special session of the Security Council on Afghanistan, expressed concern about the Taliban’s escalating restrictions on women and the overall deterioration of human rights. The group characterized these statements as a positive though long overdue acknowledgement of the growing crisis under Taliban rule.
It also condemned the one-sided invitation extended to the Taliban for the Doha summit while systematically ignoring Afghanistan’s political movements, civil society actors, and ethnic representatives. “Such unilateralism is unacceptable,” the statement declared. “This approach does not build peace; it strengthens the Taliban’s grip on power.” The upcoming summit is expected to include Taliban representatives, UN experts, and delegates from several countries and international financial institutions. While the head of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) has stated that Taliban participation does not equate to recognition, the Freedom Front dismissed this distinction as disingenuous. “The optics and diplomatic framing of this event serve as a form of de facto recognition. The Taliban will use this platform to further their international legitimacy campaign while continuing to violate the basic rights of millions,” the group warned.
The Freedom Front urged the international community to move beyond Taliban-centric diplomacy and instead convene inclusive dialogues involving political parties, military-political resistance groups, civil society representatives, women’s organizations, and ethnic minorities. “The future of Afghanistan cannot be negotiated behind closed doors with a single extremist group. True peace requires broad-based inclusion and accountability,” the statement read. The group called on the United Nations to intensify its exposure of what it described as the Taliban’s “inhuman and anti-human rights policies” and warned against any efforts to normalize relations with a regime whose practices flagrantly violate international norms.
According to the Freedom Front, engaging with the Taliban not only contradicts the core principles of the UN Charter but also breaches international human rights instruments including the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), and the International Covenants on Civil, Political, Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights. The statement concluded with a stern reminder: “The Taliban have constructed a regime built on fear, gender-based discrimination, and systematic repression. The international community must not close its eyes to this reality, nor lend it the veneer of legitimacy.”
