International Recognition
5.4.30 The Taliban was recognized by Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates as the government of Afghanistan in May 1997. [7d] However, it has won no other international, or UN, recognition and former President Rabbani continues to be acknowledged by many, [1] including Iran and Russia, [11a] as the rightful leader of Afghanistan. [1] In recent years, the Taliban has found itself isolated internationally because of its discriminatory policies on grounds of gender, the perception that it allows Afghanistan territory to be used as a base for so-called international terrorism, and the concern over the reported production and export of illegal drugs from Afghanistan. [7i]
[7] Amnesty International [d] Annual Report, 1998
[1] Europa World Year Book 1998, Volume I, March 1998
[11] United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees [a] Background Paper on Refugees and Asylum Seekers from Afghanistan, June 1997
[7] Amnesty International [i] Afghanistan: Detention and Killing of Political Personalities, March 1999
5.4.31 By August 1998, having seized Mazar-i-Sharif, the last city remaining outside its control, the Taliban prepared to turn its efforts towards a campaign for international recognition. The only countries [currently] recognising the Islamist movement's legitimacy as a government were Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. In 1998, the Pakistan Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif, and [then] Army Chief of Staff, General Jehangir Karamat, supported a more neutral policy and a negotiated settlement in Afghanistan, while the [then] Foreign Minister (a Pashtun) and the intelligence services (Pashtun dominated) wished to adopt a clear-pro Taliban line. With the official commencement of nuclear rivalries between Pakistan and India in the summer of 1998, support for the Taliban by Pakistan was no longer questioned. [11b]
[11] United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees [b] Update to the Background Paper on Refugees and Asylum Seekers from Afghanistan, January 1999
5.4.32 Hopes of recognition were short-lived when on 20 August 1998 a US missile attack targeted camps in Afghanistan, allegedly containing terrorist infrastructure of a movement led by Saudi Arabian dissident, Osama bin Laden. The US government alleged that there was evidence implicating bin Laden in the bombing of US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania on 7 August 1998. The Taliban's continued defence of bin Laden and their denunciation of the US raid ruled out any dialogue with the US which might have led to diplomatic recognition. [11b]
[11] United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees [b] Update to the Background Paper on Refugees and Asylum Seekers from Afghanistan, January 1999
5.4.33 While Afghanistan's status in relation to the US has long since changed after the Cold War, it continues to engage US interest in areas such as containing terrorism, curbing illegal drug trafficking, and checking human rights violations. Unsubstantiated rumours that the US had supported the Taliban in order to build pipelines and isolate Iran were put to rest when the US attack on Taliban-controlled Afghanistan took place. [11b]
[11] United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees [b] Update to the Background Paper on Refugees and Asylum Seekers from Afghanistan, January 1999
5.4.34 In early October 1998 Saudi Arabia decided to downgrade diplomatic relations with Afghanistan and recalled its charge d'affairs from Kabul. The decision to downgrade relations was prompted by Saudi Arabia's request to extradite bin Laden. Analysts believed that the policy shift had been prompted by pressure from US officials on the Saudi government to secure the capture of bin Laden. [5j] Amnesty International also reported in March 1999 that relations between Saudi Arabia and the Taliban appear to be strained. [7i]
[5] Keesing's Record of World Events [j] October 1998
[7] Amnesty International [i] Afghanistan: Detention and Killing of Political Personalities, March 1999
5.4.35 Former President B. Rabbani, who had relocated to Takhar in the north, claims that he has remained the head of the legitimate Government of Afghanistan. His delegation retained Afghanistan's seat at the United Nations after the General Assembly deferred a decision on Afghanistan's credentials. [11b]
[11] United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees [b] Update to the Background Paper on Refugees and Asylum Seekers from Afghanistan, January 1999
5.4.36 In October 1998 the leader of the Taliban, Mullah Mohammad Omar, made a public offer to halt the production of opium poppies in exchange for international recognition of the Taliban regime. In remarks made to the Taliban's Bakhtar news agency, Omar said that unless the regime gained recognition the country faced serious economic hardship. [5j]
[5] Keesing's Record of World Events [j] October 1998
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