Hadi’s meet with Taliban delegates approved by PM, says Saifuddin
KUALA LUMPUR: The working visit of the Prime Minister’s special envoy to the Middle East Tan Sri Abdul Hadi Awang (pic) to meet Taliban delegates was approved by the Prime Minister, says the Foreign Ministry.
Its Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Abdullah said although the government had started an informal engagement with stakeholders in Afghanistan, it did not mean that Malaysia recognises its Taliban-led interim government.
Saifuddin said the engagements efforts were important to ensure that Afghanistan did not experience socio-economic and humanitarian collapse.
Abdul Hadi’s working visit to meet Taliban delegates was aimed at further strengthening Malaysia’s role in finding the best solution to the issue in Afghanistan, said Saifuddin.
“His working visit from Jan 31 to Feb 4, 2022, was agreed upon by the Prime Minister on Jan 28, 2022.
“As the Prime Minister’s special envoy to the Middle East, apart from ensuring that Malaysia’s strategic interests with countries in the Middle East continue to be preserved, he also plays a role in further strengthening ties with several other countries including Afghanistan,” said Saifuddin in a parliamentary written reply.
This was in response to a question by Oscar Ling Chai Yew (PH-Sibu) who asked the Foreign Minister to state why Abdul Hadi met with the Taliban and whether the meeting was approved by the Cabinet.
Saifuddin also said that the government had started informal engagement with stakeholders in Afghanistan as done by a number of other countries.
“The engagement doesn’t mean that Malaysia recognises the interim Afghanistan government under the leadership of the Taliban.
“The engagement efforts are important to ensure that Afghanistan does not experience socio-economic and humanitarian collapse,” he said.
Saifuddin added that he attended the Extraordinary Meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) for Foreign Ministers to discuss the situation in Afghanistan in Islamabad, Pakistan on Dec 19, 2021.
During the meeting, Saifuddin said he highlighted Malaysia’s position, including nation building and humanitarian aid to Afghanistan must be led by Afghanistan, owned by Afghanistan and controlled by Afghanistan.
“I have called on the international community to avoid the economic collapse of Afghanistan as a whole.
“In this regard the OIC should act to address and resolve the issue of freezing over US$9bil of Afghanistan’s international reserves. The reserves belong to the Afghan people,” he said.
On Feb 8, Abdul Hadi’s aide said in a statement that the PAS president’s meeting with the Taliban delegates in Doha, Qatar, on Feb 4, did not symbolise Putrajaya recognising the Taliban government.
The aide, Syahir Sulaiman, said Hadi’s meeting with the Taliban was merely a dialogue facilitated by the Qatari government.