Doha, Qatar:
The Taliban will hold joint face-to-face talks with European and US envoys, the EU mentioned on Monday, as the hardline Islamists pursue their diplomatic push for international assistance.
Afghanistan’s new rulers are searching for recognition, as nicely as help to steer clear of a humanitarian disaster, soon after they returned to energy in August following the withdrawal of US troops soon after 20 years of war.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged the world to donate more dollars to Afghanistan to head off its financial collapse, but also slammed the Taliban’s “broken” promises to Afghan girls and girls.
EU spokeswoman Nabila Massrali mentioned officials from the US and Europe would meet representatives of Afghanistan’s new authorities for talks facilitated by Qatar in Doha on Tuesday.
She mentioned the meeting would “allow the US and European side to address issues” like free of charge passage for men and women wanting to leave, access for humanitarian help, respect for the rights of girls and stopping Afghanistan becoming a haven for “terrorist” groups.
“This is an informal exchange at technical level. It does not constitute recognition of the ‘interim government’,” she mentioned.
The Taliban badly want allies as Afghanistan’s economy is in a parlous state with international help reduce off, meals costs increasing and unemployment spiking.
The regime, nonetheless but to be recognised as a reputable government by any other nation, is also facing a threat from the ISIS-K, who have launched a series of deadly attacks.
A meeting with the EU was announced earlier by the Taliban’s acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, days soon after he led its very first in-individual talks with United States officials due to the fact the American pullout.
“We want positive relationships with the whole world. We believe in balanced international relations. We believe such a balanced relationship can save Afghanistan from instability,” Muttaqi mentioned in translated remarks at an occasion in Qatar.
Ahead of the talks, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell mentioned the bloc was seeking to bolster its direct help to the Afghan men and women in an work to stave off “collapse”.
“We cannot ‘wait and see’. We need to act, and act quickly,” Borrell mentioned soon after discussions with EU development ministers.
The international neighborhood is facing a difficult balancing act attempting to get urgently-required help to Afghans devoid of endorsing Taliban rule.
Guterres underscored discontent with the Taliban more than its therapy of girls in spite of vows it would not repeat its earlier hardline rule.
“I am particularly alarmed to see promises made to Afghan women and girls by the Taliban being broken,” he told reporters.
Without the participation of girls “there is no way the Afghan economy and society will recover”, Guterres mentioned.
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Afghanistan’s boys have been permitted to return to secondary schools 3 weeks ago, but girls have been told to keep at home along with girls teachers in a lot of the nation, although they can attend principal college.
Asked about the exclusion of girls, Muttaqi mentioned schools had been closed since of Covid-19 — a threat he mentioned had lessened.
“Covid… has been controlled and incidences are very few, and with the reduction of that risk, opening of schools has already started and every day it is increasing,” he mentioned.
Muttaqi also insisted there was no discrimination against the Shiite neighborhood and also claimed that ISIS-K was becoming tamed.
“Whatever preparations they had made have been neutralised 98 percent,” he mentioned.
ISIS-K claimed a bombing of a Shiite mosque that killed more than 60 men and women on Friday, the deadliest attack due to the fact the Taliban regained energy.
Underlining the shaky safety predicament, the US and Britain warned their citizens on Monday to steer clear of hotels in Afghanistan, and singled out one hotel in Kabul.
“US citizens who are at or near the Serena Hotel should leave immediately,” the US State Department mentioned, citing “security threats” in the region.
The Serena, a luxury facility well-liked with company travellers and foreign guests, has twice been the target of attacks by the Taliban.
In 2014, just weeks ahead of the presidential election, 4 teenage gunmen with pistols hidden in their socks managed to penetrate a number of layers of safety, killing nine men and women, like an AFP journalist and members of his family.
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