Taliban say they won't work with US to contain Daesh

Kabul - Senior officials from both countries are set to meet in Doha

The Taliban on Saturday ruled out cooperation with the US to contain extremist groups in Afghanistan, staking out an uncompromising position on a key issue ahead of the first direct talks between the two countries since America withdrew its forces in August.

Senior Taliban officials and US representatives are to meet Saturday and Sunday in Doha, the capital of Qatar. Officials from both sides have said issues include reining in extremist groups and the evacuation of foreign citizens and Afghans from the country. The Taliban have signalled flexibility on evacuations.

Taliban political spokesman Suhail Shaheen told The Associated Press there would be no cooperation with Washington on going after the increasingly active Daesh group affiliate in Afghanistan. Daesh has taken responsibility for a number of attacks, including a suicide bombing that killed 46 Muslims and wounded dozens as they prayed in a mosque.

“We are able to tackle Daesh independently,” Shaheen said, when asked whether the Taliban would work with the US to contain the terror group.

Daesh has carried out relentless assaults on the country’s Shiite Muslims since emerging in eastern Afghanistan in 2014. It is also seen as the greatest threat to the United States.

The meetings in Doha are the first since US forces withdrew from Afghanistan in late August, ending a 20-year military presence, and the Taliban rose to power in the nation. The US has made it clear the talks are not a preamble to recognition.

The talks also come on the heels of two days of difficult discussions between Pakistani officials and US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman in Islamabad. The focus of those talks was also Afghanistan. Pakistani officials urged the US to engage with Afghanistan’s new rulers and release billions of dollars in international funds to stave off an economic meltdown.

Pakistan also had a message for the Taliban, urging them to become more inclusive and pay attention to human rights and its minority ethnic and religious groups.

Afghanistan’s Shiite clerics assailed the Taliban rulers following Friday’s attack, demanding greater protection at their places of worship. The Daesh affiliate claimed responsibility and identified the bomber as a Uygher Muslim. It was the deadliest attack since foreign troops left Afghanistan at the end of August.

Michael Kugelman, deputy director of the Asia Program at the US-based Wilson Center, said Friday’s attack could be a harbinger of more violence.

During the Doha talks, US officials will also seek to hold Taliban leaders to commitments that they would allow Americans and other foreign nationals to leave Afghanistan, along with Afghans who once worked for the US military or government and other Afghan allies, a US official said.

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The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak on the record about the meetings.

The Biden administration has fielded questions and complaints about the slow pace of US-facilitated evacuations from Taliban-ruled Afghanistan since the withdrawal of its troops.

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