Minister: Officials speak regularly but UK ‘some way off’ recognising Taliban

Foreign Office minister Andrew Mitchell was responding to calls from Tory MP Tobias Ellwood for the UK to re-engage with Afghanistan.
Foreign Office Andrew Mitchell minister defended the Government’s approach (James Manning/PA)
PA Wire
Richard Wheeler10 January 2024
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Britain is “some way off” moving to recognise the Taliban although officials from both sides speak regularly, according to a Foreign Office minister.

Andrew Mitchell said the UK Government has a “pragmatic dialogue” with the Taliban and it needs to keep the pressure on them to change their approach.

He also said the Government will keep “very much under review” calls to reopen the UK embassy in Afghanistan, but he noted the security and political situation does not currently allow them to re-establish a diplomatic presence in Kabul.

Mr Mitchell was responding to renewed calls from Conservative former minister Tobias Ellwood for the UK to re-engage with Taliban-led Afghanistan amid worries over a “looming” economic, humanitarian or terrorism crisis.

Mr Ellwood last summer faced a backlash after claiming that security in Afghanistan had “vastly improved” and “corruption is down” after the Taliban’s return.

He quit as Defence Committee chairman after a subsequent apology failed to prevent members of the cross-party body seeking to remove him from the post.

Taliban militants returned to power in summer 2021 after western forces, including the US and UK, withdrew following a 20-year occupation.

Speaking in Westminster Hall, Mr Mitchell said the Taliban’s “increasingly repressive” policies have had a “devastating impact” on women and girls in Afghanistan while minority groups face “discrimination and attacks”.

He said the basic expectations, as made clear by UN resolutions, include ensuring Afghanistan will “no longer be used as a base for terrorist activities”.

Mr Mitchell told MPs: “Our senior officials speak regularly to the Taliban, including to secure the release of four British national detainees last October.

“Officials also visit Kabul when the situation permits, including a visit last month from the British charge d’affaires to Kabul, where he met a wide range of senior Taliban figures.

“Regardless of the complexities of the relationship, the UK Government has helped lead the way in securing the Afghan people.

“In respect of (Mr Ellwood’s) plea about the embassy, we will note what he has said and keep that very much under review.”

The minister said the UK has dispersed more than £600 million since 2021 in aid for Afghanistan.

Mr Mitchell added: “Our intention since August 2021 has been to re-establish a diplomatic presence in Kabul when the security and political situation allows. We do not believe that is the case at the moment but officials continue to visit and we’ll keep this under close review.

“We’re clear thar we must have a pragmatic dialogue with the Taliban however this does not amount to recognition. We are some way off moving to recognise the Taliban and we need to keep the pressure on them to change their approach.

“This does not stop us from having an impact on the ground and directly helping the people of Afghanistan in any pragmatic way.”

Our approach to Afghanistan is not just at the moment incoherent, it's ineffectual

Conservative MP Tobias Ellwood

Mr Ellwood earlier said there are 9 billion US dollars of frozen assets, telling MPs: “That could easily be used to provide conditionalities in improving rights for women and girls if we used it more cognitively.”

Mr Ellwood also said there is “no clarion call for regime change” among the Afghan population or the diasporas in the UK.

He said: “That begs the very difficult question – if the Afghan people are not calling for it, should we continue to punish the Afghan people because the Taliban are in charge?

“There are no easy options here but the challenges now facing this fragile country remain immense and the Taliban know this.”

Speaking of the need for the UK to re-evaluate its strategy, Mr Ellwood said: “We now have a duty to develop a strategy of engagement that moves from our current position of punishing the Afghan population for the Taliban’s takeover.

“Our approach to Afghanistan is not just at the moment incoherent, it’s ineffectual. Our financial support is down to just £100 million.

“An economic, humanitarian or terrorism crisis is looming. The Afghanistan threat is not just to the country itself but to the region and beyond.

“Let’s make sure Afghanistan and its people are not forgotten. It is time to engage, it is time to reopen our embassy.”

Conservative MP Sir Julian Lewis (New Forest East) said he could partly support Mr Ellwood’s remarks on engagement, saying: “No matter how much we detest a particular regime, a time always comes when if in reality it has established full control over a country it gets international recognition.”

He added: “Where I find it hard to go further with (Mr Ellwood) is in the belief that we can somehow manipulate this system in order to make significant improvements or avert significant threats from an Afghanistan run by the militant Taliban, even if he does detect – and I’m sure rightly – significant factions existing within the Taliban spectrum such as it is.”

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