UN envoy meets Hamid Karzai to discuss pressing issues affecting Afghans

UN deputy representative to Afghanistan Potzel Markus met former President of Afghanistan Hamid Karzai on Thursday to discuss pressing issues affecting the people of Afghanistan.

"Always a pleasure and privilege to draw from the vast experience of former President @KarzaiH on reconciliation processes in Afghan society," said UN envoy Potzel Markus following a meeting to discuss current pressing issues, including the urgent need for inclusive dialogue.A day earlier, Markus met Dr Abdullah Abdullah, former Chairman of the High Council for National Reconciliation and underscored the need to include all groups of society in political, economic and social lives in Afghanistan.

"PotzelMarkus had his first meeting with @DrabdullahCE as the new Deputy UNAMA head today. They discussed the need to include all groups of society in political, economic & social lives in #Afghanistan & emphasized the importance of education for all to ensure a better future," the UNAMA tweeted.

On 17 June 2022, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appointed Markus Potzel of Germany as his new Deputy Special Representative (Political) for Afghanistan in the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan.

He arrived in Kabul, Afghanistan, on July 3.

Potzel brings to the position over 27 years of professional experience in diplomacy and international cooperation, including eight years of professional experience working in and on Afghanistan. Most recently, he served as Ambassador of Germany to Afghanistan.

Since its ascent to power in Kabul, the Islamic group imposed policies severely restricting basic rights--particularly those of women and girls.

According to Human Rights Watch (HRW), the Taliban dismissed all women from leadership posts in the civil service and prohibited girls in most provinces from attending secondary school. Taliban decrees prohibit women from traveling unless accompanied by a male relative and require women's faces be covered in public--including women TV newscasters.

The Taliban have carried out broad censorship, limiting critical reporting, and have detained and beaten journalists. Taliban forces have carried out revenge killings and enforced disappearances of former government officials and security force personnel. They have summarily executed people deemed affiliated with the Islamic State.

Armed groups linked to the Afghan branch of the Islamic State have carried out bombings targeting ethnic Hazaras, Afghan Shias, Sufis, and others, killing and injuring hundreds.

The Afghan economy collapsed after August 2021, as millions of people lost salaries when the US, World Bank, and other donors stripped the Central Bank of Afghanistan of its foreign assets and access to financial assistance.

Over 90 per cent of the Afghan population faces serious food insecurity, along with a lack of medicine and a rise in malnutrition-related disease.

( With inputs from ANI )