NewsThe Taliban warn the US about "trying to destabilize"...

The Taliban warn the US about "trying to destabilize" their government at their first meeting in Doha

The Taliban warned the United States not to “destabilize” the new regime in Afghanistan, in their first face-to-face this Saturday in Doha after the US withdrawal. The meeting took place the day after a suicide attack claimed by the Islamic State (IS) group in northern Afghanistan that left more than 60 dead, the most devastating since the departure of US troops on 30 December. August.

“We have clearly told them that trying to destabilize the government of Afghanistan is not good for anyone ,” Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi told the Afghan state agency Bakhar. Good relations with Afghanistan are good for everyone. Nothing should be done to weaken the current government of Afghanistan, which can lead the search for solutions to the problems of its people, “he added, in statements recorded and translated by AFP.

The United States did not immediately comment on these statements by the Taliban minister, after the first of two days of meetings.

The US delegation is led by Deputy Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation, Tom West , and Sarah Charles , chief humanitarian officer for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). “We will pressure the Taliban to respect the rights of all Afghans, including women and girls, and to form an inclusive government with broad support,” a State Department spokesman said Friday when announcing the meeting.

The return to power of the Taliban in mid-August coincided with the chaotic US withdrawal at the end of that month, after twenty years of occupation. The meeting in Doha does not in any way mean that the United States recognizes the Taliban regime in Afghanistan, the State Department insisted.

The Taliban seek international recognition and foreign aid to prevent a humanitarian disaster and alleviate Afghanistan’s economic crisis.

Burial in Kunduz

This same Saturday, a large cemetery in Kunduz, in northern Afghanistan, hosted the funerals of the victims of the IS attack the day before against a Shiite mosque in that city during the noon prayer and that left at least 60 dead.

A gravedigger informed AFP that 62 graves had been dug after the attack, the final balance of which could be close to a hundred dead.

According to the jihadist group, the suicide bomber was known as “Mohamed the Uyghur”, implying that he was part of the Chinese Muslim minority, some of whose members joined IS.

The Taliban, who rule throughout the country, pledged to protect all communities, but the Shiites of Kunduz have been traumatized by the attack.

The country’s Shiite community (10-20% of the population) is often targeted by Sunni armed groups, who consider Shiites “heretics”.

One day after the massacre, the parents of a 17-year-old, Milad Husain, attended their son’s funeral, unable to hold back their tears. His uncle, Zemarai Mubarak Zada, assured that his nephew wanted to be a doctor, like him. “He was a quiet young man, he spoke little,” his uncle confided to AFP. He wanted to go to college, to get married. We are devastated.

After a prayer, the gravediggers buried the coffin, before the attentive gaze of their afflicted relatives. A scene that was repeated dozens of times on Saturday in this cemetery overlooking Kunduz.

“Scary”

Images from the scene of Friday’s attack showed debris scattered inside the mosque, the windows of which were blown out by the blast. In other shots, several men were seen carrying a body wrapped in a bloody sheet to an ambulance.

“It was a very scary incident,” stressed a Kunduz teacher who lives near the mosque. “Many of our neighbors were killed or injured. A 16-year-old lost his life and they have not been able to find half of his body, “he added.

Aminullah, whose brother was in the mosque, said: “When I heard the explosion I called my brother but he did not answer,” he told AFP. “I went to the mosque and saw him wounded and passed out. We quickly took him to the MSF [Doctors Without Borders] hospital, “he explained.

For his part, Michael Kugelman , an expert on Southeast Asia at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars cabinet, told AFP that it will be difficult for the Taliban to consolidate their power if they do not address the issue of terrorism and the growing economic crisis in the country. .

“If the Taliban, as is likely, are not able to address these concerns, they will have a difficult time gaining internal legitimacy, and we could witness the emergence of a new armed resistance,” he said.

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