The members of the Supreme Council of National Resistance for the Salvation of Afghanistan issued a statement on May 27, calling the Taliban’s recent actions, including convening the Loya Jirga and forming the Return and Communications with Former Afghan Officials and Political Figures Commission, a “ploy” that they “firmly reject”, reports The Khaama Press. While the Taliban lacks national and international legitimacy, the council claimed that the Taliban had made “desperate efforts” to gain support from the Afghan people and the international community, as well as to rule the “oppressed” people for a period of time. The council said in a statement that the Taliban were staging a “sinister plot” by hosting a “show”, referring to the meeting of the “Great Assembly of Afghans” at the behest of a pre-determined plan. The National Resistance Council for the Salvation of Afghanistan, according to the statement, denies both Taliban attempts, calling them “an insult to the collective consciousness of the people, a disdain to political figures and their complicity in the Taliban’s crimes, and a play on the international community’s thoughts. The Taliban must understand that no conscientious political figure, no committed and diligent scholar, and no brave and patriotic woman is willing turn a blind eye on the blood of Afghanistan’s oppressed people and their just demands and partake in the group’s crime,” the statement stated.