UN special envoy meets acting Taliban foreign minister, talks about rights

Ahead of a Security Council briefing on Afghanistan, UN Special Representative Deborah Lyons met with the acting Foreign Minister of the Taliban regime, Amir Khan Muttaqi.

The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said in a statement on Wednesday that discussions focused on the rights and protection of all Afghans, the return of boys and girls to schools, and economic challenges.

Lyons also met the former state minister for peace of the Afghan government, Abdul Salam Rahimi and discussed "the importance of all Afghans coming together to build a more stable and inclusive future," the UNAMA statement said.

The Security Council briefing comes at a time when the Taliban regime is facing renewed resistance in the provinces of Panjshir, Bamiyan, Kapisa and Parwan, Tolo News reported on Monday.

A combination of a suspension of foreign aid, the freezing of Afghan government assets and international sanctions on the Taliban have plunged the country, already suffering from high poverty levels, into a full-blown economic crisis.

More than half of the country's poverty-stricken population, or an estimated 24 million Afghans, face an acute food shortage and some one million children under five years of age could die from hunger by the end of this year, according to UN estimates.

India, on Tuesday, sent 50,000 metric tonnes (MT) of wheat to Afghanistan overland through Pakistan.