Talks on to create future Afghan setup

KABUL: A Taliban delegation led by Anas Haqqani on Wednesday met former Afghan president Hamid Karzai and former chief executive officer Abdullah Abdullah in Kabul to discuss the new government formation.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said the former Afghan senate chairman Fazal Hadi and other officials also attended the meeting, where the political leaders were provided with "foolproof security protocol".

Separately, Haqqani also met Hizb-e-Islami chief Gulbuddin Hekmatyar. The US has classified the Haqqani Network of the Taliban as a terrorist network, holding it responsible for some of the most deadly militant attacks in Afghanistan in recent years. According to international media reports, a spokesperson for Karzai said that the aim of the meeting was to get the ball rolling on negotiations with deputy Taliban chief and head of the political office of the group in Doha, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar. He led the talks for the withdrawal of US troops and it is expected he will hold an important role in the government to be formed in Afghanistan.

Meanwhile, the EU, US and 18 other countries issued a joint statement on Wednesday saying they were "deeply worried about Afghan women and girls", urging the Taliban to ensure their safety. "We are deeply worried about Afghan women and girls, their rights to education, work and freedom of movement. We call on those in positions of power and authority across Afghanistan to guarantee their protection," said the statement. "Afghan women and girls, as all Afghan people, deserve to live in safety, security and dignity. Any form of discrimination and abuse should be prevented. We in the international community stand ready to assist them with humanitarian aid and support, to ensure that their voices can be heard," said the statement.

Alongside the EU and the US, the others signing onto the statement were Albania, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, North Macedonia, New Zealand, Norway, Paraguay, Senegal and Switzerland.

They said they would closely watch to see how "any future government ensures rights and freedoms that have become an integral part of the life of women and girls in Afghanistan during the last twenty years".

Meanwhile, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the Taliban would be judged on their actions, not their words.

The Taliban have said they want peace, will not take revenge against old enemies and would respect the rights of women within the framework of Islamic law. But thousands of Afghans, many of whom helped foreign forces, are desperate to leave.

"We will judge this regime based on the choices it makes, and by its actions rather than by its words, on its attitude to terrorism, to crime and narcotics, as well as humanitarian access, and the rights of girls to receive an education," Johnson told Parliament, which was recalled from its summer break to discuss the situation in Afghanistan.

On Wednesday, it also emerged that former Afghan president Ashraf Ghani, who fled the country as it toppled to the Taliban, was seeking refuge in the United Arab Emirates.

On Wednesday, the UAE said it was hosting Ghani and his family "on humanitarian grounds", in the first confirmation of his whereabouts.

In another development, the Biden administration froze Afghan government reserves held in US bank accounts, blocking the Taliban from accessing billions of dollars held in US institutions, according to two people familiar with the matter.

The decision was made by Treasury Secretary Janet L Yellen and officials in the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, the people said. The State Department was also involved in discussions over the weekend, with officials in the White House monitoring the developments. An administration official said in a statement, “Any Central Bank assets the Afghan government have in the United States will not be made available to the Taliban.”