The United States and the Taliban began two days of meetings Saturday in Qatar.
The Taliban and the United States are talking again. U.S. representatives and top Taliban figures kicked off two days of meetings in Doha, the capital of Qatar, on Saturday. A Taliban official said the group that now effectively runs Afghanistan would not seek U.S. help on containing ISIS, which Friday launched a suicide attack that killed 46 Shiite Muslims and wounded dozens more as they prayed in a mosque in Kunduz. “We are able to tackle [ISIS],” Taliban political spokesman Suhail Shaheen said on Saturday. This weekend’s meetings are the first face-to-face talks since U.S. forces withdrew from Afghanistan in August — ending a 20-year military presence — as the Taliban quickly ran roughshod over Afghanistan. “We had a detailed discussion with the American delegation in Doha, and this discussion will continue all day today and into tomorrow as well,” Taliban spokesperson Zabiullah Mujahid said.. “During this meeting, discussions were made about the humanitarian assistance as well, and this discussion will continue,” he added.
