Jakarta (ANTARA) – Indonesia is pushing for a roadmap from the Taliban on its commitments for supporting peace and improving the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan, Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi has said.
The roadmap was included in the resolution of the Extraordinary Session of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Islamabad, Pakistan, in December 2021, which was held specifically to discuss the issue in Afghanistan, she added.
“Indonesia was among the meeting’s initiators, considering Afghanistan’s worsening humanitarian situation. Indonesia’s position has always been consistent, wanting to see Afghanistan be peaceful, stable, and prosperous,” Marsudi said while issuing her annual press statement (PPTM) here on Thursday.
According to the minister, Indonesia has continued to encourage the fulfillment of the Taliban’s promises in August 2021, such as respect for women’s rights. It is also committed to sending help for humanitarian issues there, she added.
“Two Indonesian aircraft carrying food and nutrition assistance to the Afghan people will soon arrive there in cooperation with the United Nations (UN),” she informed. This year, Indonesia will focus on Afghan women’s education and empowerment through efforts such as offering scholarships, she said.
The United Nations has earlier stated that Afghanistan is facing the worst humanitarian crisis in the world in terms of food, fuel, and liquidity, she noted. Amir Khan Muttaqi, who has been appointed by the Taliban as the acting foreign affairs minister of Afghanistan, had said earlier that the country’s new regime would allow women to pursue education and work, she said.
However, four months after the statement was made, news reports emerged of Afghan girls being banned from school and the Taliban only allowing women to work in certain sectors such as health, Marsudi noted. Therefore, the resolution of the OIC meeting is deemed important to address the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, she said. The document stipulates some measures such as providing supplies of COVID-19 vaccines and drugs and stresses the eradication of terrorism in the country, she added.
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