EU warns new Taliban govt not ‘inclusive and representative’

The European Union on Wednesday said the “caretaker” government unveiled by the Taliban in Afghanistan failed to honor vows from the new rulers to include different groups.

“Upon initial analysis of the names announced, it does not look like the inclusive and representative formation in terms of the rich ethnic and religious diversity of Afghanistan we hoped to see and that the Taliban were promising over the past weeks,” an EU spokesperson said.

The EU’s 27 nations have set out five conditions for increasing their engagement with the Taliban — including the formation of an “inclusive and representative” transitional government.

The spokesperson for the bloc said that “such inclusivity and representation is expected in the composition of a future transitional government, and as result of negotiations”.

The Taliban on Tuesday announced a hardline caretaker government that has no women or non-Taliban members and includes key figures who are under United Nations sanctions or wanted by the United States on terrorism accusations.

Foreign ministers from 20 nations are to hold talks on Wednesday led by the top diplomats from the US and Germany that could deal with how to approach the new administration.

The West has been scrambling to work out a way forward on Afghanistan after the Taliban seized power in the wake of the US-led withdrawal of foreign troops from the country.