(VOVWORLD) - No representative from Afghanistan will address the annual UN General Assembly general debate in New York, since the ambassador for the government ousted by the Taliban - who was due to speak on Monday – has withdrawn his name.
 The 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly opens in New York on September 14, 2021. (Photo: THX/VNA) |
Ghulam Isaczai had been scheduled to address the final day of the UN gathering, but withdrew late on Sunday. Mr. Isaczai and the Taliban, which seized power in Afghanistan last month, have made competing claims for Afghanistan's UN seat.
Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi last week asked to address the gathering of world leaders at the United Nations and nominated the Taliban's Doha-based spokesman Suhail Shaheen as Afghanistan's UN ambassador.
In another development, the international criminal court’s new prosecutor Karim Khan has asked the court to relaunch an inquiry into alleged crimes against humanity in Afghanistan.