WASHINGTON: US officials held their first wide-ranging talks, since the 2021 pullout from Kabul, with representatives of the Afghan Taliban in Doha, Qatar, to discuss economic issues, security, and women’s rights, both sides confirmed on Monday.

The talks also focused on returning assets of the Afghan central bank that were frozen in the United States after the Taliban takeover of Kabul in Aug 2021.

“On July 30 and 31, met senior Taliban representatives and technocratic professionals in Doha, Qatar … to continue discussions regarding critical interests,” US State spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a statement issued in Washington.

The US delegation was led by Thomas West, Special Representative for Afghanistan, and included Rina Amiri, Special Envoy for Afghan Women, Girls, and Human Rights, and Karen Decker, chief of the US mission to Afghanistan.

Zabiullah Mujahid, the chief spokesman for Taliban, confirmed the meeting in a tweet, saying that an Afghan delegation, led by Foreign Affairs Minister Mawlavi Amir Khan Muttaqi, met Mr West and his team in Doha to discuss key issues.

Representatives of Afghanistan’ finance ministry, the Bank of Afghanistan, and officials of Taliban’s political office in Qatar attended the meeting, he added.

Human rights

Mr Miller said US officials urged the Taliban to “reverse policies responsible for the deteriorating human rights situation in Afghanistan, particularly for women, girls, and vulnerable communities”.

US officials also expressed grave concern regarding detentions, media crackdowns, and limits on religious practice. They also expressed support for the Afghan people’s “demands for their rights to be respected and for their voices to shape the future of the country”, the spokesperson added.

Mr Miller said US officials took note of the Taliban’s “continuing commitment to not allow the territory of Afghanistan to be used by anyone to threaten the United States and its allies, and the two sides discussed Taliban efforts to fulfil security commitments”.

The American delegation, he added, “acknowledged that there has been a decrease in large-scale terrorist attacks against Afghan civilians” and US officials “pressed for the immediate and unconditional release of detained US citizens, noting that these detentions were a significant obstacle to positive engagement”.

Matthew Miller said the United States took note of reports indicating that the Taliban’s ban on opium poppy cultivation had resulted in a significant decrease in cultivation.

But the US team registered serious concerns regarding continuing trafficking and sale of processed opiates and synthetic drugs.

The American delegation voiced openness to continue dialogue on counter-narcotics, the statement added.

Published in Dawn, August 1st, 2023