Team News Riveting
Mawlawi Abdul Salam Hanafi, the second deputy prime minister of the Islamic Emirate sanctioned by the United Nations (UN), would lead the delegation set to attend the Moscow meeting.
A spokesman for the Islamic Emirate, Inamullah Samangani, said that the Islamic Emirate would take advantage of the Moscow conference and attempt to engage in legitimate relations with the world countries as soon as possible. This would be its first international exposure after the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan on August 15, 2021.
“A high-level delegation of the Islamic Emirate government of Afghanistan, led by Abdul Salam Hanafi, deputy of prime minister, will participate in the Moscow conference,” the spokesperson said. “(They) will hold talks on various issues related to Afghanistan with the representatives of different countries. Of course, we should wait for further details, as the format of the conference is yet to be decided,” he added.
Moscow will host a conference on the Afghan situation on Wednesday.
Earlier, Hanafi led the officials from the Islamic Emirate to discuss trade, transit, energy, and regional connectivity with Uzbek officials on Saturday in Uzbekistan. PM Deputy Abdul Salam Hanafi said they agreed on a range of issues, adding that Uzbekistan has promised to support the people of Afghanistan with essential items as winter is approaching.
“We agreed on some issues, and they have promised to cooperate,” he said.
Hanafi is UN-sanctioned Taliban senior leader who served as deputy minister of education under the first Taliban regime in the 1990s and later took on a prominent role within the Taliban’s political office in Doha, Qatar. An ethnic Uzbek, Hanafi studied at various religious seminaries both in and out of Karachi and has taught at Kabul University.
Given Hanafi’s role within the Taliban, the United Nations Security Council sanctioned Hanafi on February 23, 2001, and the U.K. Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation sanctioned Hanafi on April 2 of that year.
