the The United Nations apologized After employees took pictures under Taliban flags during a visit to Afghanistan.
“We are aware of this photo, which was taken while the Deputy Secretary-General met with the de facto leaders in Afghanistan,” Stéphane Dujarric, a spokesman for the UN Secretary-General, told Fox News Digital. Her guards took her to that meeting and they were waiting next door.
“The photo should never have been taken,” Dujarric stressed. “It was a mistake and we apologize for it.”
The photos first appeared on social media Thursday night, which show United Nations staff in Kabul Take a picture under the Taliban flags.
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Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed, the top UN official, visited Afghanistan in an effort to address concerns about women’s rights in the country – particularly Access to higher education and restrictions on women in the workplace.
The delegation is the largest group of officials to visit the country since the Taliban took power in 2021.
Mohammed began talking to senior Taliban leaders to persuade them to reverse course on the restrictions that had been imposed endangering humanitarian operations Where women cannot participate, according to the BBC.
Ali Maysam Nazari, head of foreign relations for the Afghan National Resistance Front, published the photos, describing them as “insensitive”.
“United Nations personnel in Kabul taking a photo with the flag of a terrorist group calls into question the neutrality and integrity of the United Nations,” Nazari wrote. “We ask António Guterres to investigate this matter and to prevent UNAMA news from such insensitive actions that could tarnish its reputation.”
The Taliban’s acting foreign minister Amir Khan Mottaki meets with UN delegates in Kabul, Afghanistan, in this screenshot taken from a video released Jan. 18, 2023.
(Taliban Foreign Ministry/Post via Reuters)
Nazari told Fox News Digital separately that the images were “unfortunate” and reiterated concerns about the UN’s impartiality and integrity.
“This comes at a time when Taliban terrorists are allowing Afghanistan to become a center of international terrorism and increasing their oppression of citizens, especially women,” Nazari said. “Such actions make us question the impartiality and integrity of the United Nations in Afghanistan, and we ask Secretary-General Guterres to kindly investigate this matter and prevent any biased move by United Nations personnel visiting Afghanistan in the future.”
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Suhail ShaheenThe Taliban’s chosen representative to the United Nations and former Taliban spokesman told Fox News Digital that the words on the Taliban’s flag belong to “Muslims around the world.”
Suhail Shaheen, spokesman for the Afghan Taliban, speaks during a joint press conference in Moscow.
(AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, Pool, File)
Shaheen said, “The words written on the white cloth are words that Muslims around the world believe in, meaning there is no god but God, and Muhammad, may God bless him and grant him peace, is the Messenger of God.” “It belongs to all Muslims, not one nation or one government.”
He added, “Anyone who does not believe in this is not called a Muslim or says something against it is committing blasphemy.”
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The UN delegation met with acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Mottaki, who stressed the need for international recognition to help empower the government, along with lifting sanctions that limit government funding.
Fox News’ Chris Massaro contributed to this article.