RASC News Agency: On Monday, the Taliban announced the formal introduction of Abdul Ghaffar Bahar as their ambassador to Uzbekistan. However, sources revealed that Tashkent informed the Taliban that, due to the group’s lack of official recognition, the Taliban flag could not be displayed alongside Uzbekistan’s national flag.
In a statement, the Taliban’s embassy in Uzbekistan noted the attendance of several officials from the group, Afghanistani residents in Tashkent, and Uzbekistani diplomats at the event. The Taliban further declared that Abdul Ghaffar Bahar had officially assumed his role as their ambassador to Uzbekistan. The Taliban’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs had previously proposed Bahar as their candidate for ambassador to Uzbekistan on Wednesday, September 18.
Although Uzbekistan, like many other nations, has not officially recognized the Taliban regime, it maintains close diplomatic and economic relations with the group, even handing over Afghanistan’s embassy in Tashkent to the Taliban. Countries interested in Afghanistan’s vast mineral resources and economic potential seek to maintain positive relations with the extremist and ethnically-driven Taliban regime. However, they remain reluctant to display the Taliban flag alongside their own, finding it diplomatically inappropriate.
This situation highlights the Taliban’s deepening isolation on both regional and global stages. As an extremist faction, the Taliban not only grapple with a lack of domestic legitimacy but also face the embarrassment of even their closest economic and diplomatic partners hesitating to fully align with them. Despite this, the pursuit of Afghanistan’s untapped wealth and economic opportunities continues to unite these actors, though it is a partnership rooted in self-interest rather than shared values.
