Taliban representatives met with Indian and Pakistani special envoys and officials amongst a number of international diplomats this week, in an effort by the Norwegian Government to break the impasse in talks on the sidelines of a peace conference in Oslo.
The talks, which came in for criticism from Afghan diaspora groups, including in Norway, for “legitimising” the insurgent group that took control of Kabul in August 2021, are the first time India and Pakistan were invited to a European country for the talks, although they have been part of similar efforts at the Moscow format hosted by Russia, and in Doha hosted by Qatar.
“Isolating Afghanistan now will be unfortunate, both for the Afghan people and for us. It could worsen the situation for the Afghan people and it could lead to terrorist groups such as IS (Islamic State) building up in the country,” Norwegian Foreign Minister Anniken Huitfeldt told local media, confirming that three Afghanistan civil servants, and not “top leadership” were participating in the Oslo Forum and speaking about the “major challenges” in the country.
