US, Taliban hold 1st meeting since withdrawal from Afghanistan

By Abdul-Jabbar Abu Ras

ANKARA (AA) – Representatives of the Afghan government and the US administration met Saturday in the Qatari capital, Doha, their first meeting since the US troop withdrawal from Afghanistan in August.

The meeting tackled bilateral relations between Kabul and Washington, the implementation of the Doha agreement, the humanitarian aid, and the Afghan frozen assets by the US, said Amir Khan Muttaqi, the foreign minister in the interim Taliban cabinet.

"We clearly told them that trying to destabilize the government in Afghanistan is good for no one," Muttaqi told Afghan state news agency Bakhtar after the talks.

A senior US official said the meeting with the Taliban delegation did not raise the issue of recognition of the Taliban government.

The Qatari authorities have yet to comment on the results of the Taliban-US meeting.

Meanwhile, acting Minister of Information and Culture and Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said the Afghan delegation met with Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani and discussed their bilateral relations and the economic projects in Afghanistan.

The Taliban regained control of Kabul on Aug. 15 after the previous Western-backed administration collapsed and its officials fled the war-torn country.

The Taliban previously ruled Afghanistan from 1996 until 2001 when US-led foreign forces invaded the country in search of Al-Qaeda and other militant groups.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar in Ankara