Belgian Foreign Minister Hadja Lahbib has called on nations to avoid legitimising the Taliban regime in Afghanistan on Tuesday during a working visit to the United States.
Besides attending bilateral meetings with Belgium’s US partners, the head of Belgium’s diplomacy had lunch in Washington with women from Afghan civil society groups. She called this meeting a “personal request.”
“Afghanistan is bound by treaties it has signed in the past, even if it was before the Taliban regime,” Lahbib told the press. The minister praised the activities of Afghan civil society groups, their expertise, and way of thinking about “all the possible ways to circumvent” rules demanded by the current Taliban regime.
Belgian Minister of Foreign Affairs Hadja Lahbib with Melanie Verveer, the first U.S. Ambassador for Global Women's Issues, unidentified, Dr. Habiba Sarabi, the former Governor of the Bamyan Province of Afghanistan, and Belquis Ahmadi, from the U.S. Institute of Peace, in Washington DC. Credit: Belga / Samuel Corum
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“Women work in textiles, give online courses, etc,” she said. Nevertheless, she lamented the high suicide rate in the country.
The minister also relayed a request made by the civil society group to develop effective lobbying within Islamic cooperation organisations “to put pressure” on the Taliban regime.
