Taliban, UN officials meet on humanitarian, development assistance for Afghanistan

Deputy Prime Minister of Taliban-led regime Mawlawi Abdul Salam Hanafi has met with visiting United Nations Development Program (UNDP) Administrator Achim Steiner on assistance to the war-torn country.

According to a statement from the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan on Tuesday, the two sides discussed humanitarian and development assistance during their meeting held in the Afghan capital of Kabul, reported Xinhua.

Deborah Lyons, the UN special envoy for Afghanistan and head of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), was among the UN officials participating in the meeting.

The UN officials, quoted in the statement, said the situation in Afghanistan has changed and the United Nations wants to know what Afghans expect from the world body, as per the news agency.

On March 17, the UN Security Council adopted a resolution to extend the mandate of the UNAMA for one year till March 17, 2023.

The majority of countries have refused to formally recognize the Taliban amid worries over human rights issues. Earlier, the Taliban regime issued a decree banning female students above grade six from participating in their classes. The girls were further told to stay home until the Islamic Emirate announces its next decision.

Dozens of female students in Afghanistan's capital city of Kabul took to the streets demanding the Taliban regime to withdraw its decision to ban girls from attending school above the sixth grade. Many countries have condemned the Taliban's U-turn on girls' education. Taliban, since it took control of Kabul last August, have been facing flak from many countries for human rights abuse.

( With inputs from ANI )

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