Afghan clerics’ assembly urges recognition of Taliban govt

By RAHIM FAIEZ
Associated Press

ISLAMABAD (AP) — A three-day assembly of Islamic clerics and tribal elders in Kabul has concluded with pledges of support for the Taliban and calls on the international community to recognize Afghanistan’s Taliban-led government. The meeting — similar to Afghanistan’s traditional Loya Jirgas — was called by the Taliban. A statement released Saturday at the end of the gathering urged countries in the region and the world, the United Nations, Islamic organizations and others to remove all sanctions imposed on Afghanistan since the Taliban takeover last August and unfreeze Afghan assets abroad. A cleric who attended the gathering says more than 4,500 Islamic clerics and elders who attended renewed their allegiance and loyalty to the Taliban’s supreme leader.