U.S. officials held formal direct talks with the Taliban in Doha, Qatar, this week, with the American delegation pushing Afghanistan's hardline Islamic rulers to restore basic rights for women and girls and to free U.S. nationals detained in the country.
According to a statement posted online by the Taliban, "the two sides discussed confidence building, taking practical steps thereof, removing blacklists and lifting sanctions, unfreezing DAB [Afghanistan's central bank] reserves, economic stability of Afghanistan, countering narcotics, and issues on human rights."
A statement issued Monday by the U.S. State Department said the delegation had "expressed deep concern regarding the humanitarian crisis and the need to continue to support aid organizations and UN bodies delivering assistance consistent with humanitarian principles" in Afghanistan.
Despite two years of consistent demands from the U.S., the United Nations and many other countries, the Taliban has not made any concessions to improve human rights in Afghanistan, despite the country continuing to receiving billions of dollars in aid annually.
Fawzia Kofi, a former member of the Afghan parliament and the previous government's negotiating team that dealt with the Taliban, said the U.S. and its allies, "only issue statements on the women's and human rights violations, and then there is no action."
Read more here.
