Afghanistan's acting Prime Minister Mullah Hasan Akhund, at a news conference in Kabul on Wednesday, urged international governments to officially recognize the country's Taliban administration, adding that all conditions had been met.
Taliban members enjoy an afternoon on the banks of a river in Kandahar, Afghanistan, September 23, 2021 /CFP
"I ask all governments, especially Islamic countries, that they should start recognition," Akhund said in his first major public broadcast appearance since assuming the role in September.
Foreign powers have been reluctant to recognize the Taliban administration since it took over Afghanistan in August.
Akhund and other Taliban administration officials made an appeal at the press conference, also attended by UN officials, for a loosening of restrictions on money into the country, blaming its growing economic crisis on the freezing of funds.
Western countries led by the United States have frozen billions of dollars of Afghan banking assets and cut off development funding that once formed the backbone of Afghanistan's economy.
Families in Afghanistan who had to migrate to the province of Heart live in tents, January 16, 2022. /CFP
"Short-term aid is not the solution and we must try to find a way to solve problems fundamentally," he said.
The international community has ramped up humanitarian aid, designed to address urgent needs and largely bypass official channels. But as the country faces a cash crunch and a deteriorating economy over the harsh winter, millions of people have plunged into poverty.
The UN Secretary General's Special Representative for Afghanistan Deborah Lyons also spoke at the event, saying Afghanistan's economic crisis was a serious problem that needed to be addressed by all countries.
"The United Nations is working to revitalize Afghanistan's economy and fundamentally address Afghanistan's economic problems," she said.
Afghanistan's acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi said the Taliban administration was seeking economic relations with the international community.
"Humanitarian aid is the short-term solution to economic problems; but what we need to solve problems in the long run is the implementation of infrastructure projects," he said.
In the past 20 years, international assistance to Afghanistan has been highly politicized and often stopped when the administrations changed, Afghanistan's acting Deputy Prime Minister Abdul Salam Hanafi said.
The economic sanctions on the country are detrimental. "Aside from humanitarian aid, we also need the implementation of infrastructure projects to help the development of the country in the long run," he said.
(With input from agencies)