Afghanistan: Taliban asks US to release frozen assets at Doha talks

Acting foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi holds first in-person discussions with American counterparts since US withdrawal
He also said Washington would offer Afghans coronavirus vaccines

Afghanistan after the US withdrawal

Reuters

Published: 3:43pm, 9 Oct 2021

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Taliban representatives asked the United States to lift a ban on Afghan central bank reserves at a meeting with American counterparts in Doha, Afghanistan’s acting foreign minister said on Saturday in remarks reported by Qatar-based Al-Jazeera television.

The minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi, also said Washington would offer Afghans coronavirus vaccines, Al-Jazeera reported, after the first senior face-to-face meeting between the two sides since the hardline group took over the country in August following a US troop pull-out.

The minister added that the Afghan delegation and US counterparts discussed “opening a new page” between the two countries, adversaries during the United States’ two-decade long occupation of Afghanistan.

03:17

Suicide bomb attack claimed by Isis-K kills dozens at Shia mosque in Afghanistan

Washington and other Western countries are grappling with difficult choices as a severe humanitarian crisis looms large over Afghanistan. They are trying to formulate how to engage with the Taliban without granting it the legitimacy it seeks while ensuring humanitarian aid flows into the country.

The departure of US-led forces and many international donors robbed the country of grants that financed 75 per cent of public spending, according to the World Bank.

Muttaqi also said that the Afghan delegation focus at the meeting was humanitarian aid and implementing Doha agreement.

Taliban forces ‘destroy’ Isis hideout after Kabul mosque bombing

He said the discussions would continue on Saturday and would resume on Sunday. Muttaqi added the Afghan delegation will meet European Union representatives to discuss latest developments, but he didn’t mention when the meeting will be held.

Meanwhile, Taliban political spokesman Suhail Shaheen said there would be no cooperation with Washington on containing the increasingly active Islamic State (Isis) group in Afghanistan.

Two Taliban police officers patrol a street in Kunduz, Afghanistan, on Friday. Photo: dpa

Isis has taken responsibility for a number of recent attacks, including a suicide bombing on Friday that killed at least 55 minority Shiite Muslims and wounded dozens as they prayed in a mosque in the northern city of Kunduz. It was the deadliest assault since the US departure.

“We are able to tackle Daesh independently,” Shaheen said, when asked whether the Taliban would work with the US to contain Isis affiliate. He used an Arabic acronym for Isis.

Afghanistan’s Shiite clerics assailed the Taliban rulers following Friday’s attack, demanding greater protection at their places of worship.

The Isis affiliate claimed responsibility and identified the bomber as a Uygur Muslim. The claim said the attack targeted both Shiites and the Taliban for their purported willingness to expel Uygurs to meet demands from China.

Additional reporting by Associated Press