The White House on Wednesday said that the United States is in no hurry to recognize the new interim Taliban government that has been put into place in Afghanistan.
Talking to media persons at her daily news conference, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said that no one in the current US administration, including the President, believes that the Taliban are respected and valued members of the global community, adding the new acting interior minister is a Haqqani network terrorist.
She further said that the US is in talks with the Taliban counterparts to ensure safe passage out of the war-torn country for the American citizens stranded there.
“We have not conveyed we’re going to recognize it and nor are we rushing to recognition. There’s a lot they have to do before that. What we are working to do is to engage with them because they oversee and control Afghanistan right now to get American citizens, legal permanent residents, SIV applicants out of Afghanistan,” Psaki said.
Talking about the new interim government that the Taliban has set up in Kabul, Psaki addressed the terrorism concerns, pointing at the new interior minister Sirajuddin Haqqani, who has links to Al-Qaeda and has United Nations sanctions for terrorism charges.
“But to engage with them — their new acting interior minister is a Haqqani network terrorist. He’s wanted for a bombing that killed six people, including an American. He’s believed to have participated in cross-border attacks against US troops. There’s a USD 10-million bounty on his head. Why are we engaging?” she asked.
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She took jibes at the Taliban for trapping people inside of Afghanistan, treating women discriminately, and behaving and operating in problematic ways.
“The United States is watching. It’s whether they let people depart the country who want to depart, whether they treat women across the country as they have committed to treating them and how they behave and operate. And, therefore, we’re not moving toward recognition,” she said.
