Tajikistan says it will not recognize Taliban Afghan govt unless it’s inclusive

Tajikistan will not recognize an Afghan government that is not inclusive and representative of all its ethnic groups, Tajik President Emomali Rakhmon said on Wednesday, accusing the Taliban of failing to fulfil their promise of inclusivity.

Rakhmon, whose government has close ties with Russia, made the remarks in a meeting with visiting Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, who is touring Central Asia amid instability in Afghanistan following the withdrawal of US-trained troops and the fall of the Kabul government.

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“Facts clearly show that the Taliban are reneging on their earlier promises to form an interim government with broad participation of the country’s other political forces and are preparing to create an Islamic emirate,” Rakhmon’s office said in a statement.

“Tajikistan will not recognize any other government that would be established in that country through oppression and without taking into account the position of all the people of Afghanistan, especially all of its ethnic minorities.”

Tajikistan, which borders Afghanistan, hosts a Russian military base and is a member of a Moscow-led post-Soviet security bloc.

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