Muttaqi tells EU, US weakening the Afghan govt is not in anyone’s interest

An Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) official confirmed in a statement that a meeting was held in Doha between high ranking IEA officials and ambassadors and representatives of the United States, the European Union and other Western countries on Tuesday.

According to IEA foreign ministry spokesman Abdul Qahar Balkhi, Afghanistan’s acting Foreign Minister Mawlavi Amir Khan Muttaqi also discussed the current situation in the country at the meeting.

Muttaqi told delegates that “weakening the government of Afghanistan” is not in anyone’s interest, and implied it could lead to another mass migration.

“Weakening the government of Afghanistan is not in anyone’s interest, it will have a negative impact on the world, whether it is in the field of security or economic migration from Afghanistan,” Muttaqi said.

According to Balkhi, Muttaqi also spoke about the current situation in the country, relations with other countries, the economic crisis, the resumption of humanitarian aid projects and the ongoing sanctions, “which attracted the attention of all participants”.

“The prescription for pressure in Afghanistan has not worked, let’s work on the prescription for better interaction and cooperation,” Muttaqi said at the meeting.

Muttaqi also stated the IEA’s priority is to pay last month’s salaries of half a million state employees and to start new economic projects.

“We call on the international community to lift the current sanctions so banks can resume normal operations so that charities and the government can pay their employees through their own resources or through international financial assistance,” Muttaqi said.

“We also believe that Afghanistan’s instability is not in anyone’s interest, but we do have some concerns that you should address,” he said. This will have a positive effect on our relationship with you.”

Many participants said they had increased humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan and wanted to increase this by the end of this year. It was also hoped that such meetings and interactions would continue in the future.

Participants at the meeting said they also believe that instability in Afghanistan is not in anyone’s interest, but stated they do have some concerns which the IEA needs to address, Balkhi said.

Balkhi stated it was also hoped that such meetings and interactions would continue in future.