Taliban Asks to Address World Leaders at UN General Assembly

A UN spokesman said, on Tuesday, that the Taliban has demanded to speak to international leaders at this week's UN General Assembly gathering in New York.

According to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' spokesman, Stephane Dujarric, the Taliban sent a letter "requesting to participate" in the high-level conversation.

The letter was signed by acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi and dated September 20, the day before the UN General Assembly began.

The letter stated that the Taliban was selecting a new UN permanent representative, Mohammad Suhail Shaheen. In addition, the Taliban requested participation in the annual UN gathering, according to Dujarric.

During the peace talks in Qatar, Shaheen served as a spokesman for the Taliban.

Senior State Department officials said they were aware of the Taliban's request because the US is a member of the UN Credentials Committee, but they refused to speculate on how the body might rule.

Former Afghan President Ashraf Ghani was "ousted" on August 15, according to the Taliban letter to Guterres, and countries throughout the world "no longer recognize him as president." As a result, Ghulam Isaczai, the current accredited Afghan Ambassador, no longer represents Afghanistan, according to the statement.

On the final day of the UN General Assembly gathering on September 27, Afghanistan is expected to make the final speech. If the UN credentials committee gave the Taliban Afghanistan's seat, it was unclear who would speak.