First clash between Taliban and Washington: The United States did not recognize the new Government of Afghanistan

The Taliban have denounced US statements that members of the new government are on a “black list”, especially Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani.

In a statement released Thursday morning by Deputy Information Minister Zabiullah Mujahid, the Taliban said Washington’s position on the Haqqani network is “a clear violation of the Doha agreement, and it is not in the interest of the United States or Afghanistan.”

The U.S. Department of Defense, commenting on the interim Taliban government, criticized the presence of members of the Haqqani network, who are on the U.S. blacklist and are wanted by Washington’s security and intelligence services.

The Taliban responded in their statement today that “the Haqqani family is part of the Islamic Emirate, and they do not have a separate name and organization, and could have been removed from the blacklist if the request was still valid,” referring to the inclusion of the network members on the US terror lists.

The statement continued: “Whether the United States or other countries express provocative views or try to interfere in the internal affairs of Afghanistan, the Islamic Emirate strongly denies this position.”

The movement concluded its strong statement by calling on Washington « transform this bad position into a diplomatic position as soon as possible ».

Over the past years, the network has been the striking force of the Taliban since it joined in 1995, against the US-led international coalition and the Afghan government, and its founder, Djalalouddine Haqqani, was the most prominent fighter against the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.

The United States has placed the Haqqani network on its black list for years and has provided millions of dollars for information leading to the arrest of Sirajuddin, the son of the founder of the network, on charges of “committing terrorist acts.”

The FBI website published a news bulletin containing Sirajuddin Haqqani’s specifications and details of the operations he is involved in, namely the killing of six people, including an American citizen, in an attack on a hotel in Kabul in 2008, and the attempted assassination of former Afghan President Hamid Karzai in the same year.

On Wednesday evening, the United States of America officially announced that it did not recognize the new Government of Afghanistan.

The United States has not recognized the Taliban-declared government in Afghanistan, said White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki.