Afghan Taliban refuses to give US humanitarian aid

The U.S. has refused to provide humanitarian aid to a desperately poor Afghanistan on the brink of an economic disaster, while refusing to give new Taliban rulers political recognition, the Taliban said Monday.

The statement came at the end of the first direct talks between the U.S. and its former foes since the chaotic withdrawal of US troops at the end of August.

There was no immediate comment from the U.S. on the weekend meeting.

The Taliban said the talks held in Doha Qatar, went well with Washington providing formal support to Afghanistan after refusing to link such assistance with legitimate recognition of the Taliban.

The United States made it clear that the talks were in no way a preamble for recognition of the Taliban, who swept into power Aug. 15 after the U.S. - Allies collapsed.

Pakistan's interim foreign minister Suhail Shaheen also told The Associated Press that the Taliban have assured the U.S. during the talks that the Taliban are committed to seeing that Afghan soil is not used by extremists to launch attacks against other countries.

On Saturday, however, the Taliban ruled out cooperation with Washington in Afghanistan on containment of the increasingly active Islamic state group in Afghanistan.

IS, an enemy of the Taliban, has claimed responsibility for a number recent attacks, including Friday's suicide bombing that killed 46 minority Shiite Muslims. Washington considers terrorism its greatest terror threat emanating from Afghanistan.

When asked whether the Taliban would work with the U.S. to control Daesh, Shaheen said: 'We are able to tackle Daesh independently.' He used an Arabic acronym for IS.

Bill Roggio, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies tracking militant groups, agreed that the Taliban don't need Washington's help to search down and destroy IS affiliate, known as Islamic State in Khorasan province or ISKP.

The Taliban fought 20 years to eject the U.S. and it will be the last thing it needs is the return of the Americans. It also doesn't need American help, said Roggio, who also produce the foundation's Long War Journal. The Taliban has to conduct the difficult and time-consuming task of rooting out ISKP cells and its limited infrastructure. It has the education tools and know-how to do it. The IS affiliate doesn't have the advantage of safe havens in Pakistan and Iran that the Taliban had in its fight against the United States, Roggio said. However, he warned that Taliban's longstanding support for al-Qaida make them unreliable as counterterrorism partners with the United States.

The Taliban gave refuge to al-Qaida before it carried out the 9/11 attacks. It was this invasion that prompted the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan by the U.S. military which drove Taliban from power.

It is insane to think the Taliban can be a reliable counterterrorism partner. Given the Taliban's enduring support for al-Qaida, Roggio said.

During the meeting, U.S. officials were expected to press the Taliban to allow Americans and others to leave Afghanistan. In their statement, the Taliban said without providing further details that they would facilitate principled movement of foreign nationals.