Row erupts after UN officials pose with Taliban flag during Afghanistan visit, apology issued

Kabul: The United Nations (UN) has apologized for a "significant lapse in judgement" after photographs surfaced of some of its personnel in front of a Taliban flag in Afghanistan. The apology came after a four-day visit to the war-torn country by Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed, the highest-ranking woman in the UN, as well as the Executive Director of UN Women Sima Bahous and Assistant Secretary-General of the Department of Political, Peacebuilding Affairs and Peace Operations Khaled Khiari.

During the visit, the delegation met with Taliban leaders in Kabul and Kandahar and conveyed their alarm over recent restrictions on education and work for women and girls across the country. However, photographs of some UN security personnel in front of the Taliban flag drew criticism and led to the apology.

Farhan Haq, the Deputy Spokesperson for Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, said the photograph was taken while the Deputy Secretary-General was meeting the de facto leaders in Afghanistan.

He added that the photograph should never have been taken and that it was a mistake.

The Head of Foreign Relations for the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan, Ali Maisam Nazary, took to Twitter to express his concerns, saying that the "UN personnel in Kabul taking a photo w/a terrorist group's flag brings the United Nation's impartiality & integrity into question." Nazary also called for an investigation and for the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) to prevent such actions in the future.

During the visit, the UN delegation conveyed concerns over the Taliban's recent decree banning women from working for national and international non-governmental organizations, a move that the UN said undermines the work of numerous organizations helping millions of vulnerable Afghans.

(With agency inputs)