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The talks, which will take place in Doha, will revisit the peace deal the Taliban signed with the United States last year.
Senior Taliban officials and US officials are expected to hold talks in Qatar on the containment of extremist groups in Afghanistan and the evacuation of foreigners and Afghans from the country.
Saturday and Sunday’s meeting will be the first since US forces withdrew from Afghanistan in August, ending a 20-year military presence and the rise to power of the Taliban.
A spokesperson for the US State Department said on Friday evening that the talks were not about recognizing or legitimizing the Taliban as Afghan leaders, but about continuing pragmatic talks on issues of national concern to them. United States.
He said the priority was the safe departure of Afghans, US citizens and other foreign nationals from Afghanistan, adding that another goal was to urge the Taliban to respect the rights of all Afghans, including inclusive of women and girls, and to form inclusive government with Broad Support.
The State Department has not disclosed who will travel to Qatar’s capital Doha on the US side.
Doha-based Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen told The Associated Press on Saturday that the talks will also review the peace deal the Taliban signed with Washington last year, which paved the way for final withdrawal of the United States.
“Yes, there is a meeting … on bilateral relations and the implementation of the Doha agreement,” Shaheen said. “It covers various topics.
Since the Taliban took power, the Islamic State of Khorasan Province, ISKP (ISIS-K), has stepped up attacks against the group, as well as against ethnic and religious minorities.
ISKP suicide bomber killed on Friday at least 46 minority Shia Muslims and dozens injured in the deadliest attack since leaving the United States.
Natasha Ghoneim of Al Jazeera, reporting from Doha, said expectations of a breakthrough in the talks should be “tempered” as there is still a “gulf” between what the United States wants and what the government wants. transition in Afghanistan.
“The Taliban describe her delegation as high level and are led by her acting foreign minister,” she said. “On the American side, there will be diplomats from the State Department, members of USAID and the Department of Intelligence.
Notably absent, Ghoneim added, is Zalmay Khalilzad, who has been the US contact person in talks with the Taliban for years.
Terrorist threat
The 2020 US-Taliban deal, which was negotiated by the Trump administration, required the Taliban to sever ties with “terrorist” groups and ensured that Afghanistan would no longer harbor terrorists who could attack states. United and their allies.
The Taliban have said they do not want US counterterrorism aid and warned Washington against any “on the horizon” attack on Afghan territory from outside the country’s borders.
The Biden administration has responded to questions and complaints about the slow pace of US-facilitated evacuations from Taliban-ruled Afghanistan since the US withdrawal.
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