By Humeyra Pamuk

WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – A U.S. delegation is due to meet in Doha with Taliban leaders on Saturday and Sunday. This will be their first meeting face-to-face at a high level since Washington pulled out its troops from Afghanistan.

According to officials, high-ranking officials of the U.S. will be represented by officials from USAID, State Department, and U.S. intelligence. The officials will ask the Taliban for safe passage to U.S. citizens in Afghanistan as well as to free Mark Frerichs (a kidnapping U.S. citizen).

U.S. officials stated another top priority would be to hold Taliban accountable to its promise that Afghanistan will not become a new hotbed for al Qaeda and other extremists, while pressing them to improve humanitarian assistance access as Afghanistan faces a potential “really severe” and possibly impossible to stop economic contraction.

U.S. Special Representative Zalmay Khalilzad, who has for years spearheaded U.S. dialogue with the Taliban https://www.reuters.com/world/us/brokering-exit-afghanistan-us-envoy-khalilzad-became-face-diplomatic-debacle-2021-09-10 and been a key figure in peace talks with the group, will not be part of the delegation.

The U.S. team includes the State Department’s deputy special representative Tom West and top USAID humanitarian officials Sarah Charles. According to officials, Cabinet officials from the Taliban will also be present.

A senior official in the administration said that the meeting was a continuation to the ongoing pragmatic engagements we have with Taliban on important national issues. He spoke on condition of anonymity.

This meeting does not seek to confer legitimacy or recognition. The Taliban have to prove their legitimacy by taking responsibility for it. “They need to have a consistent track record,” said the official.

Two decades of US occupation in Afghanistan ended in an organized airlift that saw over 124,000 civilians, including Americans and Afghans, evacuated in the midst of Taliban rule. But, the Taliban threatened thousands more U.S.-allied Afghans were not left behind.

Washington and the West are facing difficult decisions when Afghanistan is in a humanitarian crisis. The West is trying to figure out how to deal with Taliban while still ensuring that humanitarian aid is flowing into Afghanistan.

To pay ever-scarcer foodstuffs, many Afghans are selling off their belongings.

According to the World Bank the United States and other international donors have left the country without the grants necessary for financing 75% public spending.

The U.S. official indicated that there had been an improvement in the ability of humanitarian workers to access certain areas where they weren’t for 10 years, but that problems persisted. He also said that the U.S. delegation would push Taliban to improve.

“Right now we are facing real access issues ….There’s a lot to be done to ensure that female aid workers can access all areas unhindered,” said the official. He also stated that Washington should see an improvement in this area by the Taliban “if it is to envisage even more comprehensive humanitarian assistance.”

RESPECT FOR WOMEN’S RIGHTS

Although the Taliban promises to be more inclusive now than it was during its time in the country’s leadership from 1996 to 2001 the United States repeatedly stated that it would judge the Taliban government on the basis of its actions and not its words.

For the new Afghan provisional government that was established last month, Taliban members resorted to its top echelons. They included an associate with the Islamist militant group’s founder who served as prime minister and as interior minister. The cabinet contained no foreigners and none women.

On Sunday, the European Union’s chief of foreign policy stated that its current behavior was not encouraging.

The official from the U.S. stated that they would press Taliban officials to recognize the rights of Afghans, including girls and women, and form an inclusive government supported by broad support.

He also stated that the Taliban’s claims of safe passage continued were not being fulfilled.

They have not been able to fulfill their obligations as a matter of practice. “It is true, sometimes we get assurances at certain levels but then don’t follow up on them,” said the official.

Ned Price, spokesperson from the State Department said that since August 31, U.S. withdrawal was complete, the United States had directly facilitated the departure of 105 U.S citizens and 95 legal permanent residents of Afghanistan.

Although he declined to give a number, he said that agency had been in touch with “dozens” of Americans who wanted to flee Afghanistan. However, the numbers were dynamic and changing constantly.