PRIME MINISTER Imran Khan has 

delivered an effective speech at

the UN General Assembly session detailing the salient points of
Pakistan’s policy on varied subjects like India, Afghanistan, Covid-
19 and climate change. All these topics resonate with an
international audience to differing degrees, but it is Afghanistan
that is the centre of attention for obvious reasons, and more so the
words of the prime minister of the country that arguably command
the highest relevance in matters relating to Afghanistan.

The prime minister had a mixed bag of arguments in his speech. These are
worthy of debate in terms of their utility for Pakistan. He was correct in saying
that if the international community did not engage constructively with the
Taliban government, the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan would become
even grimmer with poverty rates shooting beyond 90pc in the near future.
There is no doubt that unless urgent financial aid is provided to Afghanistan,
the economy will struggle to sustain itself and the citizens would face the
brunt of the hardships that ensue.

While Mr Khan may be sincere in urging the international community to lend

a hand, the Taliban government is doing itself no favours by refusing to
accommodate any demands of the international community, including
Pakistan. Not only is the Taliban leadership showing reluctance to include
other ethnicities in its governing set-up, it has flatly declined to entertain the
idea of having women representation in government. To add insult to injury,
the Taliban are cracking down on girls’ education and restricting women from
working in offices.

This is contrary to what they had promised before taking over Kabul. At that
time, many officials and other stakeholders from relevant countries and
organisations had expressed the optimism that the Taliban appeared more
pragmatic and flexible than they were in their previous stint in power. The
initial statements from various Taliban spokesmen also gave the impression
that they were desirous of joining the global mainstream. These hopes are now
dimming with each passing day. In the latest regressive move, Taliban officials
have declared they will start harsh punishments including executions and
amputations. All this means that the Taliban are gradually reverting to their
old ways and there is little chance that they will show flexibility to global
demands.

This intractability may appeal to the Taliban hardliners but it will ensure that
their government will not get the recognition they want any time soon.
Pakistan should also not press for it if the Taliban refuse to bend. The
international community is justified in using recognition as a pressure tool to
extract some fundamental reforms from the Taliban. Pakistan should do its
part to persuade the Taliban to see reason. Pakistan should also spell out for
them in no uncertain terms that without recognition and financial assistance,
the Taliban will struggle to sustain themselves in power.