ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates — President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan of the United Arab Emirates met with Badruddin Maulana, the Taliban’s ambassador to the U.A.E., reaffirming his country’s commitment to supporting the Afghan people in their pursuit of stability, development, and prosperity, according to the state news agency WAM.
During the meeting, President Al Nahyan welcomed Mr. Maulana and wished him success in his diplomatic role. The Taliban appointed Badruddin Maulana as their chargé d’affaires in October 2023. In August, the U.A.E. Foreign Ministry announced it had formally accepted Mr. Maulana’s credentials, with Saif Abdullah Al Shamsi, the ministry’s deputy director of protocol, overseeing the process.
Concerns over human rights
The engagement between the U.A.E. and the Taliban comes amid growing concerns from human rights organizations and Afghan citizens, particularly women’s rights activists, about the Taliban’s ongoing restrictions on freedoms. Critics have called on the international community to prioritize human rights issues in their dealings with the Taliban.
Richard Bennett, the United Nations Special Rapporteur for Afghanistan, has cautioned against normalizing relations with the Taliban, citing their continued erosion of women’s and girls’ rights, including bans on education and employment.
This comes as UN recently said that over 23 million people are in need of humanitarian aid from Afghanistan.
