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Taliban are considering creation of more balanced government — Russian envoy

Zamir Kabulov also noted that the Tehran meeting between the foreign minister in the Taliban’s interim Cabinet, the leader of the resistance, and the head of the people’s militia in Herat Province ended inconclusively

MOSCOW, January 31. /TASS/. Afghanistan’s Taliban movement (outlawed in Russia) are considering in earnest how to make the country’s new government more balanced in ethnic and political terms, Russia’s special presidential representative for Afghanistan, director of the Foreign Ministry’s second Asian department, Zamir Kabulov, told TASS in an interview on Monday.

"As we know, the meeting you have mentioned (between the foreign minister in the Taliban’s interim Cabinet, Amir Khan Muttaqi and the leader of the resistance, Ahmad Massoud and the head of the people’s militia in Herat Province Ismail Khan - TASS) in Tehran ended inconclusively. Nevertheless, the very instance of such a meeting inspires optimism. It was an indication that the Taliban authorities have given serious thought to making the new government more balanced in ethnic and political terms," Kabulov said.

The Taliban movement launched a large-scale operation to gain control of Afghanistan after the United States last spring declared its troop pullout. On August 15, 2021, the radicals entered Kabul without encountering resistance. President Ashraf Ghani left the country. On September 6, the Taliban said they had established full control of Afghanistan. On September 7, they unveiled the composition of their interim government, whose legitimacy has not been recognized by any country yet.