The Taliban are going places! But whether it is a quest for peace or a bid to reinvent themselves for more acceptability at the world level will be ascertained with the passage of time.
The 10-member Taliban delegation visited Geneva for a five-days trip on the invitation of the UK-based humanitarian organization, Geneva Call. This was the second official visit of a Taliban delegation to a European state after coming to power.
Earlier, in January, Norway hosted the group’s representatives in Oslo for discussions on resumption of humanitarian assistance to the increasing number of civilians who are suffering from a crippled economy as the international community continues to figure out possible ways of providing relief without inviting troubles due to the UN sanctions on the Taliban.
If the talks in Norway were an ice-breaker, the visit to Geneva was a further step in giving Taliban an opportunity to meet more humanitarian and human rights organisations to openly discuss important issues and also listen to criticism with open hearts and minds.
The delegation arrived in Geneva on Sunday. According to a Taliban source, who was part of the delegation to Geneva, the first two days of the meetings on February 7 and 8 were exclusively spent with Geneva Call and the focus was only on the humanitarian needs of Afghanistan. “We talked extensively about how humanitarian assistance could be resumed for the Afghan people. Detailed discussion took place about the responsibilities and capacities of the humanitarian organisations while at the same time the role and responsibilities of the Islamic Emirate were also brought up,” the source expressed while requesting anonymity as he wasn’t authorised to speak to media.
World Health Organisation (WHO), International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Human rights and women rights groups and organisations and officials of some European states also met the delegation in Geneva.
“The meetings were held in a good atmosphere as the humanitarians recognised the efforts of the Islamic Emirate for providing safe access to all those who wanted to reach out to the needy Afghan people. We reiterated our commitment to further ease and facilitate such efforts of the international humanitarian community,” the source noted.
One agreed upon rule for the Taliban visit to Geneva was no media coverage or news sharing. However, the Swiss government broke the news about the visiting delegation after pressure from their media. “Geneva Call also shared their press release after the Swiss visit, making way for our government to follow course,” the Taliban source added.
Unlike in Norway where the Taliban delegation was given accommodation outside the busy Oslo city, enabling them to move around freely, the delegations stay in Geneva was at Hotel Royal in the heart of Geneva city Centre just minutes from the train station and the Geneva Lake.
Talking about the delegation’s time in Geneva, a source working with a humanitarian organisation in the city claimed that the Taliban spent almost their entire time inside the hotel.
“I met a few of them and it was a pity that they weren’t allowed to go out as the Swiss authorities were concerned about protests from the rights groups. There was, in fact, one small protest by females working for women’s rights,” informed the source who did not wish to be named.
“True, the only time we went outside the hotel was to the beautiful lake on a sunny day, which we were told was a blessing in the Scandinavian winters,” the Taliban source confirmed.
It seems that the hotel staff too was not allowed to talk about the Taliban visit or their stay at the hotel. Similarly, the delegation members were kept out of reach of media and the public at the airport as a contact known to this scribe saw the delegation at the Geneva airport by chance described the scene as “layered security tiers keeping the Taliban separate from other travellers”.
However, the Taliban visit with restricted movement was undoubtedly an achievement for the group as they continue to increase their engagement with their former foes and get more chances of explaining their position on various issues that are of concern to the Western governments and their public.
Reportedly, the meeting between WHO Director General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and Taliban Interim Minister for Health Dr Qalandar Ibad was also a success as the Taliban reassured their interest in anti-poliovirus vaccination campaigns across the country.
“The WHO has concerns about access in some areas in the South and East of Afghanistan and the IEA leadership will do anything it can in order to help solve any issues,” the Taliban source added.
The source also claimed that they expected fresh and follow up meetings by different people they met in Geneva. “We are expecting visit of a big delegation from the ICRC to Kabul in the coming weeks. Similarly, United Nations High Commissioner on Human Rights Michelle Bachelet is also expected to visit Kabul soon,” he added.
