A senior American diplomat said Friday that the United States was working with global partners to help prevent a looming humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan but criticized the country’s new Taliban rulers for failing to deliver on their public commitments, including protecting human rights.
“We are extremely concerned about the worsening humanitarian situation in Afghanistan,” Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman said in remarks to a small group of reporters before winding up her visit to neighboring Pakistan.
“It is in the interest of all of us in the international community to work together to prevent the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan from spiraling into a broader regional crisis.”
Sherman recounted a recent U.N. warning that about 1 million Afghan children were at risk of starvation, that more than 18 million Afghans needed urgent humanitarian assistance, and that deepening drought and the approaching harsh winter were only going to make matters worse.
“We very much appreciate that Pakistan has also increased its humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan in recent weeks, including providing millions of dollars in food aid," she said.
Taliban pledges
The U.S. diplomat described as “forthright” and “deep and direct” her conversations with Pakistani leaders about “the way forward” in Afghanistan and “how we all should be engaging with the Taliban.”
She noted that Washington had also been “consulting broadly” with countries around the world, including Russia and China, to come to “common understandings and a common approach” on the issue. Sherman ruled out, however, granting diplomatic recognition to the Taliban government “at this point.”
The Biden administration says it is closely monitoring whether the Taliban uphold their promises of tolerance and govern Afghanistan with an inclusive political system where all ethnicities are represented while also ensuring protection of women's rights.
“We will not, however, judge the Taliban on their words but on their actions, and so far their actions have fallen far short of those public commitments,” Sherman said. “My colleagues in the Pakistan government and I discussed the importance of holding the Taliban accountable to the commitments they have made.”
Islamabad has maintained it is not in a rush to recognize the new Taliban government, but it has been urging the U.S. and other countries to engage with the new rulers in Kabul rather than abandoning the turmoil-ravaged country.
The American diplomat said that in her talks with Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi and others, the two sides also discussed ways to advance cooperation between Washington and Islamabad.
Source: Voice of America