Since taking over, the Taliban has faced international condemnation, including from several Muslim-majority countries, over restrictions the group has imposed on women’s education. The leaders of the Taliban met in Qatar with United States officials for the first time since they returned to power in Afghanistan two years ago.
A spokesman for Afghanistan’s foreign ministry said Monday that the two sides discussed confidence-building measures during two days of talks, including the lifting of sanctions and travel bans, as well as the return of Afghanistan’s central bank assets held abroad. The delegations also discussed the fight against narcotics and human rights issues, Abdul Qahar Balkhi said.
No country has formally recognized the Taliban since its return to power
The group took over in August 2021 when the Western-backed Afghan government collapsed in the wake of the chaotic US withdrawal from the country after 20 years of conflict.
Since taking over, the Taliban has faced international condemnation, including from several Muslim-majority countries, over restrictions the group has imposed on women’s education. Afghanistan is also facing a humanitarian crisis, with almost half of its population – 23 million people – receiving aid from the World Food Program (WFP) last year.
The participants including US Special Representative Thomas West and Special Envoy for Afghan Women, Girls and Human Rights Rina Amiri expressed “serious concerns about detentions, media intrusions and restrictions on religious practice,” according to the statement.
The officials also renewed calls for the Taliban to lift bans on girls’ secondary education and women’s employment, as well as the release of detained Americans.
They also “expressed openness to continue the dialogue on the fight against narcotics”, while acknowledging the “significant decline in poppy cultivation” this growing season.
Taliban fighters have used the opium plant to finance their armed struggle for years. By 2020, according to the UN, 85 percent of the world’s opium flowed from Afghanistan. Since their takeover, however, the authorities have banned the harvest.
The US delegation also met with representatives of Afghanistan’s central bank and the Ministry of Finance, with the State Department saying it had “noticed” declining inflation as well as rising exports and imports in 2023. It said it would be open to “an early technical dialogue on economic stabilization issues,” the statement said.
After the Taliban took power, the US froze about $7 billion in Afghan central bank funds held at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Half of the funds are now in the Swiss Afghan Fund. A US-funded audit of Afghanistan’s central bank failed to win Washington’s support for the return of assets from the trust fund.
