Taliban ask to address UN General Assembly: UN spokesman

The Taliban have asked to address world leaders at this week's United Nations General Assembly meeting in New York, a UN spokesman said on Tuesday.

The credentials committee will now rule on the request, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told AFP.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres received a letter from the group "requesting to participate" in the high-level debate, Dujarric said.

The letter was dated Monday September 20, the day before the session got underway, he said.

It was signed by Amir Khan Muttaqi as "Minister of Foreign Affairs," the spokesman said.

The letter also indicated that Ghulam Isaczai "no longer represents" Afghanistan at the United Nations.

He was the ambassador to the UN of the Afghan government ousted from power last month as US military troops exited the country, ending their 20-year war.

The letter said that the Taliban had nominated their Doha-based spokesman Suhail Shaheen as Afghanistan's permanent representative to the UN.

The note, which had the letterhead "Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, Ministry of Foreign Affairs," said that former president Ashraf Ghani was "ousted" on August 15, the day he fled the country.

"Countries across the world no longer recognize him as president," the note said, according to the UN.

The UN spokesman also said that Secretary-General Guterres had received a separate letter from Isaczai, dated September 15, containing the list of Afghanistan's delegation for the session.

"These two communications have been sent by the secretariat, after consultation with the office of the president of the General Assembly, to the members of the credentials committee of the 76th session of the General Assembly," he said.

The committee is made up of Russia, China, the United States, Sweden, South Africa, Sierra Leone, Chile, Bhutan and the Bahamas.

It is unclear whether the committee will meet before the end of the convocation on Monday.