US to hold first face-to-face talks with Taliban since Afghan withdrawal: US State Department
New Delhi: The Spokesperson of the US State Department on Saturday said that “The US delegation will meet the Senior Taliban representatives in Doha (Qatar) on Saturday and Sunday in their first high-level talks since pull-out.”
The United States has remained in contact with the Taliban since the long-time foes seized Kabul in August as US troops pulled out but the meeting will be the first that is face to face.
The Spokesperson on Friday said “We will press the Taliban to respect the rights of all Afghans, including women and girls, and to form an inclusive government with broad support. As Afghanistan faces the prospect of a severe economic contraction and possible humanitarian crisis, we will also press the Taliban to allow humanitarian agencies free access to areas of need.”
The State Department stressed that the meeting did not indicate that the United States was recognizing Taliban rule in Afghanistan. “We remain clear that any legitimacy must be earned through the Taliban’s own actions,” the spokesperson said.
A top priority in the meeting will be the release of kidnapped US citizen Mark Frerichs, and another top priority will be to hold the Taliban to its commitment that it will not allow Afghanistan to again become a hotbed for al Qaeda or other extremists while pressing the group to improve access for humanitarian aid as the country faces the prospect of a “really severe and probably impossible to prevent” economic contraction, The US official said.
The United States’ two-decades-long occupation of Afghanistan culminated in a hastily organized airlift in August which saw more than 124,000 civilians including Americans, Afghans, and others being evacuated as the Taliban took over. But thousands of other U.S.-allied Afghans at risk of Taliban persecution were left behind.
The United States’ two-decades-long occupation of Afghanistan culminated in a hastily organized airlift in August which saw more than 124,000 civilians including Americans, Afghans, and others being evacuated as the Taliban took over. But thousands of other U.S.-allied Afghans at risk of Taliban persecution were left behind.
The spokesperson did not specify who would represent the two sides. Senior US officials including Central Command chief General Frank McKenzie met with the Taliban in Kabul in August as US troops took over the airport for the airlift.
The US to hold first face-to-face talks with Taliban since Afghan withdrawal says State Department.
(_Vinayak.Barot)
