Taliban deputy foreign minister says Kuwait to soon accept diplomats at Afghan embassy

Naim Wardak, deputy financial and administrative minister at the Taliban Foreign Ministry, said Kuwait will accept Taliban diplomats at the Afghan embassy in the country in the coming days.

The Kuwaiti government has not commented on the claim.

India earlier this solar year accepted Taliban diplomat Noor Ahmad Noor as chargé d'affaires at the Afghan embassy in New Delhi, a move that drew reactions. India's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Randeep Jaiswal said at a press conference that Noor Ahmad Noor would handle embassy affairs in that capacity.

Over more than four years of renewed Taliban rule in Afghanistan, several countries including Iran, Russia, China, Uzbekistan, Pakistan and some European nations have accepted Taliban diplomats at Afghan embassies in their territories. However, apart from Russia, no country has recognized Taliban rule.

Key conditions cited by the world for Taliban recognition include countering rising terrorist threats, combating groups threatening regional and global interests, human rights and forming an inclusive government in Afghanistan.

The UN Security Council on February 12 extended for one year the mandate of the team monitoring sanctions against the Taliban and entities threatening peace and security in Afghanistan. The resolution, drafted by the United States, passed unanimously with 15 votes in favor.

The so-called 1988 sanctions regime against the Taliban was thus extended for another year, and exemptions from travel bans for some Taliban leaders expired. The Taliban had previously called for lifting the sanctions, but the Security Council cited ongoing terrorist activities in Afghanistan, discrimination against women and lack of an inclusive government as reasons for continuation.