US says talks with Taliban in Qatar were ‘candid and professional’
- United States held first in-person talks with Taliban since the latter's takeover of Afghanistan
- The US delegation assured 'robust humanitarian assistance, directly to the Afghan people'
- Taliban refused to work with American authorities for containing the Islamic State-Khorasan
The United States has asked the Taliban to fulfill its assurances to the international community regarding its rule in Afghanistan. A US delegation travelled to Doha, Qatar to meet senior Taliban representatives for the first in-person talks between the two sides since the latter’s takeover of Afghanistan in mid August. The discussions were “candid and professional” and the US assured “robust humanitarian assistance, directly to the Afghan people,” said State Department’s spokesperson Ned Price.
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“The US delegation focused on security and terrorism concerns and safe passage for US citizens, other foreign nationals and our Afghan partners, as well as on human rights, including the meaningful participation of women and girls in all aspects of Afghan society,” Price said in a statement.
The US delegation reiterated that the Taliban will be “judged on its actions, not only its words.”
The Taliban said the talks “went well.”
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Interim foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi assured the US that the Taliban are committed to not allow extremists to use Afghanistan for attacks against other countries.
However, there was no question of working with American authorities on containing the threat from Islamic State-Khorasan (IS-K) in Afghanistan, said Taliban political spokesman Suhail Shaheen.
The Taliban’s bid to consolidate its power in Afghanistan has been met with series of attacks by the IS-K, which claimed a bombing of a Shiite mosque that left more than 60 people dead on October 15. IS-K has also claimed several attacks against the Taliban, including a series of bomb attacks in the city of Jalalabad in eastern Afghanistan, that killed several Taliban fighters.
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The Taliban raided an IS hideout just north of Kabul in Parwan province after a roadside bomb wounded four Taliban fighters in the area.
Muttaqi said the Taliban wanted to hold meetings with other countries as well as the US to discuss the Afghanistan situation.
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