Afghanistan will not address UN General Assembly after dispute

Afghanistan will not have anyone address the UN General Assembly on Monday, in a last-minute reversal following a dispute about which official — from either the Taliban or the ex-government — should be allowed to address the assembly, AP reports.

Driving the news: Afghanistan's UN seat was the subject of competing claims following the Taliban's takeover of the country.

• Earlier this week, the Taliban nominated a new envoy to the UN, Mohammad Suhail Shaheen, and asked that he address the assembly in place of currently accredited ambassador Ghulam Isaczai, an appointee of the previous government.
• As of Friday, Isaczai was still scheduled to give the gathering's final address on Monday.

Of note: When a UN seat is disputed, the General Assembly's nine-member Credentials Committee is tasked with making a decision, but the group has not been able to meet to discuss the issue in time.

The big picture: “We were notified Saturday by the Afghan Mission that they would no longer be speaking," UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told AP Monday morning.

• Afghanistan is no longer listed on the lineup of speakers for the assembly meeting.
• However, for the time being, Isaczai remains in his position as the country's official envoy. "This does not change the fact that the representative of Afghanistan remains the same," Dujarric told CNN.