KABUL: Afghanistan’s Taliban said Thursday their forthcoming talks with the US will be centered on lifting bans on the country, unfreezing its central bank assets, and removing its leaders from a so-called UN blacklist.
The two former enemies are scheduled to meet in Doha, Qatar, later this week. Tom West, US special representative on Afghanistan, will lead his delegation along with Rina Amiri, a special diplomat for Afghan girls, women, and human rights.
Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi will lead the Afghan delegation in negotiations with US officials. The foreign ministry said in a statement that stopping Afghan airspace’s violation by the US would also be on the agenda, VOA reported.
The US delegation will meet the Taliban team and technocrats from important Afghan ministries in Doha to discuss vital interests in Afghanistan, according to the State Department.
It said that priority matters would include humanitarian support for the Afghan people, fair and dignified treatment of all Afghans, including girls and women, economic stabilization, security problems, and counter-narcotics production and trafficking efforts.
In the run-up to their meeting in Qatar, the US team traveled to Kazakhstan, where they met officials from Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and the Kyrgyz Republic for a special setting to exchange views on joint support for the people of Afghanistan.
Taliban Regime in Afghanistan
No country has formally recognized the Taliban regime since they returned to power in Kabul in August 2021, when the US-led NATO forces chaotically withdrew after twenty years of involvement in the Afghan war.
The State Department deputy spokesman Vedant Patel said on Wednesday that this does not indicate any change in the US policy. The United States has been very clear that it will talk with the Taliban appropriately when it is in its interest to do so.
