Suhail Shaheen, head of Taliban’s political office in Qatar, said that the group has a difference of opinion with the world regarding the right to education and work of Afghan girls and women.

Shaheen said that the Taliban wants to address the issue of women's education based on “Islamic principles”, but stressed that the conditions of the international community are not acceptable to the group.

In an interview with the Taliban-controlled Afghanistan National Radio Television, Shaheen said that during their meetings with foreign envoys, they see that the international community is “slowly accepting the realities of Afghanistan”.

The new statement on the right to education and work of Afghan women and girls comes even though previously the Taliban had said that they would draw a new programme for the education of Afghan girls in secondary or higher education. It has been more than 600 days since schools for girls have been shut down across Afghanistan.

Earlier, Reuters news agency reported that Qatari Prime Minister Mohammad bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani had met with Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada and discussed the education of girls and women's work during his visit to Kandahar.