Taliban’s international legitimacy conditional to reforms in education and governance sectors: Ambassador Abrar

To win international legitimacy and acceptance, the Taliban leadership need to address issues related to governance, inclusivity, and education, particularly women education through strategic reforms.

This was discussed by Ambassador (r) Syed Abrar Hussain, vice-chairman, IPS, during a roundtable held at the Institute of Regional Studies (IRS) on the topic of ‘Political–Economic Situation of Afghanistan and its Impact on Regional Connectivity’ on September 19, 2023, to understand and explore ground realities of Afghanistan and its changing relations with regional countries as well as international community.

The roundtable was also addressed by Ambassador (r) Nadeem Riyaz, president IRS, Dr Farah Naz, assistant professor, National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST), Islamabad, Salman Javed, director general, Pakistan Afghan Youth Forum (PAYF), Nizamuddin Khan, journalist and editor, HUM Network, and attended by former ambassadors, mainstream media representatives, academics, and activists.

The Taliban’s rule in Afghanistan is not facing any real and existential threat, Hussain observed. However, there are several internal and external challenges that need to be resolved through reforms if Taliban government wants to seek international legitimacy and recognition, which is still out of sight for the country because of its untoward policies and restrictions against women education.

Hussain stressed that various sorts of strategic reforms were needed in Afghanistan in governance, inclusivity and education sector – having particular emphasis on girl education, in order to address the widespread concerns of the international community.