Taliban Says Will Not Cooperate With US To Contain ISIS

The Taliban warned the US on Saturday that it should not interfere with the new regime in Afghanistan. "We have clearly told them that trying to destabilize the government is not good for anyone," said the Taliban foreign minister.

The Taliban ruled out US cooperation to contain extremist groups in Afghanistan, in the Biden government's first face-off with the Taliban regime following the US withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Taliban officials and US representatives will meet this Saturday and Sunday in Doha to discuss, among other things, the evacuation of foreign nationals and Afghans from the country, the rights of girls and women, and the control of extremist groups. However, from the outset, the Taliban's political spokesman, Suhail Shaheen, told the agency AP that there would be no cooperation with Washington to contain the Islamic State (IS) group.

This extremist group has claimed responsibility for a series of attacks in Afghanistan in the last month, including a suicide attack against a Shiite mosque that left at least 60 dead this week; the deadliest attack to hit Afghanistan since the withdrawal of US and foreign troops on August 30. According to the jihadist organization, the author called himself "Mohammed the Uyghur", implying that he was part of the Chinese Muslim minority, some of whose members joined IS.

"We can stop Daesh independently," Shaheen said when asked by journalists if he would work with the United States to contain the ISIS affiliate. This group has carried out several attacks against the country's Shiite minority since it appeared in eastern Afghanistan in 2014.

Are you already aware of the latest news in the world? We invite you to see the latest international news in El Espectador.

What has been said so far in the meetings?

The Taliban warned the US on Saturday not to "destabilize" the new regime in Afghanistan. "We have clearly told them that trying to destabilize the government of Afghanistan is not good for anyone," said Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi. to 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. Muttaqi made the remarks after the first of two days of meetings with a US delegation.

It is headed by Deputy Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation, Tom West, and Sarah Charles, chief humanitarian officer for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The US delegation did not comment, for now, on the statements of the Taliban minister.

"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.

With information from Afp *