Uzbekistan urges Taliban to respect human rights

Uzbekistan’s foreign ministry says officials in a meeting with the Taliban acting foreign minister called on the group to respect human rights, including the rights of women and the rights of ethnic minorities.

A government delegation led by Uzbek Transport Minister Ilham Mahkmov met with Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Mottaki on the sidelines of an extraordinary summit of OIC member states in Islamabad, the ministry said in a statement today.

The statement added that the meeting stressed the need to fulfill the Taliban’s commitments to human rights, including the rights of women and the rights of ethnic minorities.

According to a ministry statement, the Taliban Foreign Minister also thanked Uzbekistan for its assistance in rebuilding Afghanistan’s socio-economic infrastructure, as well as implementing major infrastructure projects in Afghanistan’s transportation and energy sectors.

Meanwhile, an extraordinary meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on Afghanistan will be held today in Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan.