Afghanistan
Taliban meet US delegation in Doha
Zabihullah Mujahid, spokesman for the militant Islamist Taliban government, at a press conference in Kabul (archive photo). Photo: Oliver Weiken / dpa
© dpa-infocom GmbH
After the takeover of power in Afghanistan, representatives of the Islamists meet with the Americans who have just left the country. Among other things, it is about access to currency reserves.
Representatives of the militant Islamist Taliban met on Saturday in the Qatari capital Doha for talks with US delegates.
At the meeting, the Taliban requested the release of frozen Afghan currency reserves, Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Chan Motaki said, according to reports from the state-run Bakhtar news agency. After the Islamists came to power, the US government and the central bank had, according to media reports, frozen most of Afghanistan’s currency reserves. For the time being, the Taliban have no access to the foreign currency reserves of around nine billion US dollars. Motaki said nothing should be done to weaken the current government as no one would benefit from instability in Afghanistan. During the talks in Doha, the Taliban also asked for humanitarian aid for Afghanistan.
According to Motaki, the US delegates assured further support with the corona vaccinations. The United States had already promised the country three million doses of the Johnson & Johnson product in July. The Taliban Foreign Minister also announced that his delegation would also meet European officials in the coming days.
The militant Islamist Taliban had conquered large parts of the country after the withdrawal of the international NATO troops. On August 15th they entered the capital without a fight and have been ruling ever since. Your government is confronted with numerous problems and the country is threatened with an economic collapse.
According to the US State Department on Friday, the talks are not about recognizing or legitimizing the Taliban in Afghanistan. Rather, it is a continuation of the “pragmatic” talks on questions of national interest to the United States. The most important priority is the continued safe exit of US citizens, other foreign nationals and Afghans.