US calls on Taliban to protect human rights
A US delegation met with representatives of the Afghan Taliban movement in Qatar on Monday and Tuesday, the State Department said.
This comes at a time when Afghanistan is suffering from a severe humanitarian crisis, with many countries cutting off their financial aid to Afghanistan after the extremist Taliban movement took control last August.
The State Department said that the U.S. officials expressed “deep concern about allegations of human rights abuses and urged the Taliban to protect the rights of all Afghans, adhere to and implement its amnesty policy, and take further steps toward forming an all-inclusive and representative government”.
The two sides discussed the international community’s response to the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, and the United States delegation pledged to continue to support United Nations efforts.
The Taliban renewed its pledge not to allow any Afghan territory to be used as a threat to any country, according to the State Department statement.
Taliban foreign ministry spokesman Abdul Qahar Balkhi said a delegation from the movement, headed by Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, held two days of talks in Doha with US Special Representative for Afghanistan Thomas West and his accompanying delegation.
“The two sides exchanged views on politics, economy, health, education, security and humanitarian issues, including discussions on necessary facilities in banking services and availability of liquidity”, Balkhi said.
