The United States defends the resurgence of diplomatic involvement with Afghan Taliban rulers, stating that "pure isolation" cannot help Washington achieve its objectives there. rice field.
Afghanistan's Special Representative Thomas West will lead the US delegation to the first meeting in Doha, Qatar, in person for more than three months in person with the Taliban's senior representative.
The US government stopped dialogue in March when a hardline Islamic group suddenly decided not to allow all teenage Afghan girls to resume secondary education.
A State Department spokesperson told VOA before the Doha meeting that the US government was "focused on promoting US interests" in Afghanistan. Afghans who worked with US-led international forces prior to the August acquisition of the Taliban.
"We are driving these benefits through engagement. We cannot achieve our goals with a purely isolated policy," said a spokesman. "Neither of these involvements should be seen as" legalizing "the Taliban or its so-called government, but it is just a reflection of the reality that such discussions need to be made to promote the interests of the United States. is.
High-ranking officials from the Treasury and the US Agency for International Development will accompany the West in a meeting with the Taliban.
Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaki will lead the Taliban delegation, accompanied by senior Treasury officials and representatives of the central bank of Afghanistan.
Still $ 7 billion frozen in the U.S. Held in a report of cooperation at the Freezing Fund held in the United States to address the hunger crisis caused by years of war and the country's persistent drought.
In February, US President Joe Biden issued a presidential order aimed at freeing half of the $ 7 billion used to benefit the people of Afghanistan. The rest will be held for an ongoing terrorism-related proceeding in a US court against the Taliban.
A State Department spokesperson said the Biden administration is "working to help find the right mechanism that can serve as the $ 3.5 billion custodian set aside by President Biden." Confirmed with VOA. A spokeswoman added that Washington "is working to urgently address complex questions about the use of these funds to ensure that it benefits the people of Afghanistan, not the Taliban."
The Taliban takeover has caused US-led foreign governments to suspend development and security assistance to the country. Strict enforcement of long-term sanctions on Taliban leaders has weakened Afghanistan's banking sector and fueled economic problems. ..
The United Nations warns that more than half of the country's estimated 40 million people need urgent humanitarian assistance. To help the people of Afghanistan in the aftermath of last week's earthquake.
A powerful June 22 earthquake killed about 1,150 Afghans, including at least 155 children, and left hundreds of the most devastating homes in Paktika and the southeastern part of the host. Destroyed or damaged. The state, according to Taliban officials and global aid agencies.
The Biden administration announced on Tuesday that it would immediately provide nearly $ 55 million in humanitarian assistance. We provide disaster-affected Afghan people with essentials, clothing, cookware, blankets, jerrycans, sanitary supplies and more to prevent water-borne diseases in the affected areas.
The United States is the largest humanitarian aid to a conflict-torn country, promising more than $ 774 million in relief assistance over the past year.
The Taliban seized power in Afghanistan as US and NATO troops withdrew from Afghanistan last August and subsequently established an all-male government. No foreign government has yet acknowledged the Taliban's rules because of lack of inclusiveness and concerns about terrorism and human rights, especially the limitation of women's rights to education and labor.
The Taliban ordered women to wear facial covers in public, in addition to stopping secondary education for most teenage girls, over 70 km without relatives. Forbidden to move.
Taliban leaders rejected the call to lift restrictions on women, claiming that they were compliant with Afghan culture and Islamic Shari'a law.
VOA Department of State Director Nike Ching contributed to this report.
