DUBAI/PESHAWAR: Taliban chief spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid on Friday called on members of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation to recognize the Afghan Taliban’s government during an upcoming meeting in neighboring Pakistan.
Pakistan will be hosting an ‘extraordinary’ session of the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers on December 19 to draw the attention of the international community to the growing humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, its foreign ministry announced earlier this week. The meeting will include delegations from the European Union. United States, Britain, France, Russia and China are also invited.
Pakistan has said the meeting will focus on drawing attention to the humanitarian crisis facing Afghanistan and not on according recognition to the Taliban.
Afghanistan faces an acute economic and humanitarian crisis since billions of dollars’ worth of international aid was abruptly cut following the Taliban takeover of the country on August 15 and the US froze some $9.5 billion in Afghan central bank assets.
While no country has recognized the Taliban government yet, senior officials from a number of countries have met with the movement’s leadership both in Kabul and abroad.
“We want good relations with the OIC countries, and we ask the upcoming meeting to support us, and to recognize the government of the Islamic Emirates of Afghanistan,” Mujahid told Arab News. “We are their brother, and they should support us and recognize the Afghan government. We need their recognition, support and cooperation.”
The Taliban took over Afghanistan when US-led foreign troops withdrew after 20 years of military presence earlier this year, prompting the previous Western-backed government to flee. The Taliban claimed near total control of the country in August, with the last enclave of opposition, led by the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan, remaining in the mountainous northern region of Panjshir Valley until mid-September.
Members of NRFA leadership left for neighboring Tajikistan shortly after the Taliban took over Panjshir.
“Instead of living in Tajikistan and Europe and speaking from there about a resistance that does not exist in Afghanistan, we ask them, instead, return to Kabul and live with us as brothers,” Mujahid said. “Afghanistan is peaceful now, and under our control, but we want to talk to all Afghans.”
Taliban call on OIC to recognize government during upcoming Pakistan meeting
https://arab.news/6begq
Taliban call on OIC to recognize government during upcoming Pakistan meeting
- Islamabad will host ‘extraordinary’ session of OIC Council of Foreign Ministers on December 19
- Taliban spokesperson asks leadership of Afghan opposition forces to return to the country
Pakistan drops 8,000 MW power procurement, claims $17 billion savings amid IMF-driven reforms
- Government says decision taken “on merit” as it seeks to cut losses, circular debt, ease consumer pressure
- Power minister says losses fell from $2.1 billion to $1.4 billion, circular debt dropped by $2.8 billion
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has abandoned plans to procure around 8,000 megawatts of expensive electricity, the power minister said on Sunday, adding that the decision was taken “purely on merit” and would save about $17 billion.
The power sector has long been a major source of Pakistan’s fiscal stress, driven by surplus generation capacity, costly contracts and mounting circular debt. Reforming electricity pricing, reducing losses and limiting new liabilities are central conditions under an ongoing $7 billion IMF program approved in 2024.
Pakistan has historically contracted more power generation than it consumes, forcing the government to make large capacity payments even for unused electricity. These obligations have contributed to rising tariffs, budgetary pressure and repeated IMF bailouts over the past two decades.
“The government has abandoned the procurement of around 8000 megawatts of expensive electricity purely on merit, which will likely to save 17 billion dollars,” Power Minister Sardar Awais Ahmed Khan Leghari said while addressing a news conference in Islamabad, according to state broadcaster Radio Pakistan.
He said the federal government was also absorbing losses incurred by power distribution companies rather than passing them on to consumers.
The minister said the government’s reform drive was already showing results, with losses reduced from Rs586 billion ($2.1 billion) to Rs393 billion ($1.4 billion), while circular debt declined by Rs780 billion ($2.8 billion) last year. Recoveries, he added, had improved by Rs183 billion ($660 million).
Leghari said electricity tariffs had been reduced by 20 percent at the national level over the past two years and expressed confidence that prices would be aligned with international levels within the next 18 months.
Power sector reform has been one of the most politically sensitive elements of Pakistan’s IMF-backed adjustment program, with higher tariffs and tighter enforcement weighing on households and industry. The government says cutting losses, improving recoveries and avoiding costly new capacity are essential to stabilizing public finances and restoring investor confidence.
