JAKARTA - Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock insists Germany will not recognize the Taliban as the legitimate rulers of Afghanistan, as long as the "terrible" conditions under their control persist.
No foreign government has officially recognized the Taliban since they took control of Afghanistan last August, when US-backed foreign troops withdrew after two decades of war.
"When we look across the border, the situation is dire," Germany's minister, Annalena Baerbock, told a news conference in Islamabad, the capital of neighboring Pakistan.
He further warned of a looming humanitarian and economic crisis in Afghanistan, a country where he says girls are deprived of education, women are excluded from public life and different voices are suppressed.
"As long as they go down this path, there is no room for normalization and let alone recognition of the Taliban as the legitimate ruler of the country. At the same time we will not abandon the Afghan people," he said, adding that Germany would send humanitarian aid.
Taliban officials deny allegations of rights abuses and say they are working to create conditions under which they will open secondary schools for girls.
Pakistan, which for years saw the Taliban as an effective bloc against India's longtime rival in Afghanistan, has called for engagement with the Taliban, saying the world is incapable of dealing with a humanitarian crisis.
However, Pakistan's new foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said the Taliban should pay attention to the international community's concerns about rights and security.
"It is our hope that the Afghan authorities will be responsive to the expectations of the international community, regarding respect for inclusiveness for the human rights of all Afghans including women and effective action against terrorism," he said.
Foreign Minister Baerbock called for unity to suppress the Taliban.
"The international community must come together and tell the Taliban loud and clear that you are going in the wrong direction," Baerbock said.
Baerbock also said Germany and Pakistan had streamlined systems for bringing Afghan refugees to Germany via Pakistan. It is known that more than 14,000 Afghans at high risk have been able to travel to Germany over the past few months.
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