Norway Hosts First Major European Forum For Taliban, India And Pakistan Participate

Taliban representatives engaged in talks with Indian and Pakistani special envoys and officials this week, as part of efforts by the Norwegian Government to facilitate discussions at a peace conference in Oslo.

Some Afghan diaspora groups criticized the talks, including those in Norway, arguing that they "legitimise" the insurgent group that seized power in Kabul in August 2021.

Nonetheless, the meeting represented a significant moment, as it was the first time that India and Pakistan had been invited to a European country for these types of discussions. Previously, the two countries had participated in talks through the Moscow and Doha formats, hosted by Russia and Qatar, respectively.

Norwegian Foreign Minister Anniken Huitfeldt said that isolating Afghanistan would be a mistake, given that such an approach could exacerbate the situation for the Afghan people and lead to the buildup of terrorist groups, such as the Islamic State (IS), in the country. Huitfeldt confirmed that three civil servants from Afghanistan, rather than "top leadership", participated in the talks at the Oslo Forum.

Afghanistan remains in the grip of a humanitarian crisis, with significant food shortages and continuing human rights violations, especially in relation to girls and women. The Taliban continues to deny girls and women access to education and employment opportunities.

Following several challenges, New Delhi reopened its mission in Kabul in June of 2022 and now maintains a "technical team" to oversee development and aid initiatives. Officials from the Ministry of External Affairs chose not to comment on the recent talks in Oslo, but it is believed that various issues were discussed, including India's latest delivery of 20,000 tonnes of wheat, which is arriving through the Chabahar port in Iran this week.

It should also be noted that India has signed an MoU with the World Food Programme in order to send wheat to Afghanistan.

During the conference, progress regarding the Taliban regime's decision to prohibit girls from attending school and women from working in many sectors was not reported. However, it was important that officials, including the Taliban foreign affairs spokesperson Abdul Qahar Balkhi, listened to concerns from various groups, organisers said.

At the Forum, Taliban officials engaged in private talks with special envoys from the U.S., the U.K., Norway, Qatar, India, Pakistan, and the head of the UN Afghanistan Mission (UNAMA) Roza Otunbayeva, alongside members from Afghan civil society, including a leading lawyer and a woman negotiator. Participants raised many angry questions over the decision to prevent girls from receiving an education at a session during the conference.

Additionally, amidst the concerns raised during the talks, the U.S. and European delegations offered some "admiration" towards the Taliban regime for cracking down on opium production in the country.

Afghan activists who are based in Norway protested against the discussions held at the Oslo Forum. They attempted to enter the venue and accused officials of legitimising a regime that no country has recognised officially.