A United States delegation met with Taliban representatives in Doha on Saturday, Oct. 10, and Sunday, Oct. 11 — in the first in-person meeting since American forces were pulled out of Afghanistan. This meeting was to discuss humanitarian assistance and efforts to help American citizens out of Afghanistan while keeping the Taliban accountable for its commitment to not allowing terrorists to use Afghan soil to threaten the security of the U.S. or its allies.
In addition, according to the State Department, the United States urges the Taliban “to respect the rights of all Afghans, including women and girls, and to form an inclusive government with broad support.” Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid has explained the Taliban’s goals for these meetings in that “[our] aim is to have further meetings with the Americans and also with European delegates in the days to come so that we can discuss and have their views and suggestions about the current situation in Afghanistan. We have told them time and again that a weak and an unstable government in Afghanistan is not in the interest of no one.”
The U.S. representatives included the State Department’s Deputy Special Representative Tom West and USAID humanitarian official Sarah Charles. On the Taliban’s side, cabinet officials attended the meeting. American spokesperson Ned Price explained that the two sides also discussed the U.S.’ provision of robust humanitarian assistance directly to the Afghan people. The discussions were candid and professional with the U.S. delegation reiterating that the Taliban will be judged on its actions, not only its words.
The La Salle Collegian 