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The Taliban said they are committed to ensuring that extremists do not use Afghanistan’s land to launch attacks on other countries.
The Taliban said on Sunday that the United States has agreed to provide humanitarian assistance to the extremely impoverished Afghanistan on the brink of economic disaster, while rejecting political recognition of the country’s new Taliban ruler.
The statement was issued at the end of the first direct dialogue between the former hostile parties after the chaotic withdrawal of US troops at the end of August.
The United States did not immediately comment on the weekend meeting.
The Taliban stated that the talks in Doha, Qatar, were “going smoothly.” Washington released humanitarian aid to Afghanistan after agreeing not to link such aid with the official recognition of the Taliban.
The United States made it clear that the talks are by no means a preamble to recognize the Taliban, which came to power on August 15 after the collapse of the US allied governments.
Taliban political spokesperson Sohail Shahin also said that the movement’s interim foreign minister assured the United States during the talks that the Taliban is committed to ensuring that extremists will not use Afghanistan’s land to launch attacks on other countries.
However, on Saturday, the Taliban ruled out the possibility of cooperating with Washington to contain the increasingly active Islamic State organization in Afghanistan.
Da’esh, an enemy of the Taliban, claimed responsibility for several recent attacks, including a suicide bombing that killed 46 people on Friday. Washington considers Da’esh to be the greatest terrorist threat from Afghanistan.
“We can deal with the Islamic State independently,” Shaheen said when asked whether the Taliban would cooperate with the United States to contain Islamic State-affiliated organizations.
Bill Loggio, a senior researcher at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracy, who tracks militant groups, agrees that the Taliban does not need Washington’s help to hunt down and destroy the Da’esh branch in Afghanistan.
The Taliban “has been fighting for the expulsion of the United States for 20 years, and the last thing it needs is the return of the United States. It also does not need help from the United States,” said Rogio, who is also the producer of the Foundation’s long-term war magazine. “The Taliban must perform a difficult and time-consuming task to eradicate the Daesh organization and its limited infrastructure. It has all the knowledge and tools needed to perform this operation.”
Rogio said that Da’esh’s affiliates do not have the Taliban’s safe haven advantage in Pakistan and Iran in the fight against the United States. However, he warned that the Taliban’s long-term support for al-Qaeda made them unreliable as the United States’ counter-terrorism partners.
The Taliban provided shelter for al-Qaeda before launching the 9/11 attacks. This prompted the United States to invade Afghanistan in 2001 and oust the Taliban.
“Given the Taliban’s enduring support for Al Qaeda, it is crazy for the United States to believe that the Taliban can be a reliable counter-terrorism partner,” Logio said.
During the meeting, US officials are expected to pressure the Taliban to let Americans and others leave Afghanistan. The Taliban stated in a statement that they would “promote principled foreign movement”, but did not elaborate.
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