Follow Us on Google News
DOHA: Senior Taliban officials and United States (US) representatives have discussed “opening a new page” in their countries’ relationship as they kicked off talks in Qatar, reported by Qatar-based Al-Jazeera television.
The in-person meetings that began in Doha on Saturday are the first since US forces withdrew from Afghanistan in August – ending a 20-year military presence – and the Taliban’s rise to power.
Mullah Amir Khan Muttaqi, Afghanistan’s acting foreign minister, said the focus of the Afghan delegation was humanitarian aid, as well the implementation of the agreement the Taliban signed with Washington last year.
Taliban representatives asked the United States to lift a ban on Afghan central bank reserves. The acting foreign minister added that the US would offer Afghan people vaccines against COVID-19. The Taliban delegation will later meet representatives from the European Union.
Washington and other Western countries are grappling with difficult choices as a severe humanitarian crisis looms large over Afghanistan. The departure of US-led forces and many international donors robbed the country of grants that financed 75% of public spending, according to the World Bank.
On Friday, a spokesperson of the US State Department said that the talks were not about recognising or legitimising the Taliban as Afghanistan’s leaders, but were a continuation of pragmatic talks on issues of national interest for the US.
He said the priority was the continued safe departure of Afghans, US citizens and other foreign nationals from Afghanistan, adding that another goal was to urge the Taliban to respect the rights of all Afghans, including women and girls, and form an inclusive government with broad support.
However, the State Department did not disclose who would travel to the Qatari capital from the US side. Since the Taliban took power, the Islamic State in Khorasan Province, ISKP (ISIS-K), has ramped up attacks on the group, as well as ethnic and religious minorities.
