The United Nations confirmed on Tuesday that its Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, had received an official letter from the Taliban’s caretaker foreign minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi , calling for participation in the work of the 76th session of the General Assembly currently being held in New York.
Diplomatic sources at the United Nations Secretariat said that Guterres received a letter entitled “Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, Ministry of Foreign Affairs” and dated September 20.
The sources added, “The letter has been removed with the signature of Amir Khan Muttaqi in his capacity as the ‘Foreign Minister’, in which he requests to participate in the work of the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly during the period from 21-27 September.”
The sources, who declined to be named, explained that “the letter states that as of August 15, 2021, Muhammad Ashraf Ghani has been overthrown and is not recognized as president of the country.”
The letter also included a paragraph referring to “the appointment of a new permanent representative to Afghanistan, Muhammad Sohail Shaheen, and the end of the mission of the permanent representative (Ghulam Ishaqzi), who is no longer a representative of Afghanistan.”
The diplomatic sources confirmed that “the office of the Secretary-General transferred the letter of the Taliban movement, after consulting with the office of the President of the General Assembly, to the members of the Credentials Committee of the 76th session of the General Assembly to take the appropriate decision.”
Diplomatic sources also revealed to The Eastern Herald correspondent that “the Secretary-General received a letter from the Permanent Mission of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan to the United Nations signed in the name of Ambassador Ghulam Mohammad Ishaqzai , in his capacity as the Permanent Representative of Afghanistan, which includes a list of the names of the members of the Afghan delegation participating in the work of the 76th session of the General Assembly.”
According to diplomatic sources, the Office of the Secretary-General also sent this letter to the members of the Credentials Committee of the seventy-sixth session of the General Assembly.
The international rules in force in the United Nations require that Ambassador Ghulam Mohammad Ishaqzai continue to perform his duties until the matter is decided upon through a decision taken by the Credentials Committee of the 76th session of the General Assembly, which is scheduled to be held at the beginning of next week.
