Taliban Official Expresses Optimism Over Expanding US Relations

Organisers said the gathering, held under the theme “Towards Unity and Trust”, will also explore ways to build confidence and promote common understanding among Afghan stakeholders.

The meeting, arranged by Women for Afghanistan and the South Asian Institute of Strategic Stability, brings together Afghan political figures, women, and diplomats for dialogue with Pakistani counterparts. The event had been postponed several times before going ahead this week.

Participants include Fawzia Koofi, a former member of parliament; Mustafa Mastoor, Afghanistan’s former economy minister; Nasir Ahmad Andisha, former Afghan representative to the UN in Geneva; Ahmadullah Alizai, former Kabul governor; and Tahir Zohair, former Bamiyan governor.

Others in attendance include Abdullah Qarluq of the National Islamic Movement Party, Masouma Khawari of the Islamic Unity Party of Afghanistan, and Bashir Ahmad Ansari, a writer and religious scholar.

Russia’s ambassador to Kabul, Dmitry Zhirnov, met with Muttaqi and welcomed the group’s formal participation in the forum, according to a statement from the Taliban’s Foreign Ministry.

Muttaqi described the Taliban’s inclusion as “an important step” and voiced hope that such platforms would help build trust between Afghanistan and regional countries.

The sixth Moscow Format meeting on Afghanistan was held on 4 October last year in the Russian capital with senior representatives from Russia, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, China, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Muttaqi attended that session only as a guest.

Participants at the time urged the Taliban to establish a balanced, effective and inclusive government that would safeguard the rights and interests of all Afghans, including women, girls and ethnic minorities.

Russia is the only country to have formally recognised the Taliban administration and has expanded political and diplomatic engagement with the group.

Muttaqi’s planned trip comes despite his name appearing on the UN Security Council’s sanctions list. It remains unclear whether he will be granted an exemption to travel to Moscow. Previous planned visits to Pakistan and India were cancelled after the sanctions committee declined to issue waivers.

According to a statement from the Taliban’s Supreme Court, the punishments took place in Kapisa and Khost provinces. Local courts sentenced each person to 39 lashes on charges of extramarital relations or fleeing their homes. Thirteen were flogged in Kapisa and three in Khost.

The Taliban did not release the identities of those punished. Rights groups say defendants in Taliban-run courts are denied due process and have no access to fair trials.

The group describes corporal punishment, including flogging, as enforcement of Islamic law. Taliban courts across Afghanistan issue such sentences regularly, often in public gatherings.

Just last week, authorities flogged at least 27 people in Kabul, Takhar and Balkh provinces on charges of illicit relations, selling alcohol and trafficking narcotic pills.

Despite repeated condemnation from international human rights organisations, the Taliban have continued to carry out public corporal punishments since returning to power in 2021.

The gathering, set for 29–30 September, is organised by the “Women for Afghanistan” initiative and the South Asian Strategic Stability Institute. It will feature sessions exclusively for Afghan leaders as well as joint discussions with Pakistani counterparts.

Organisers said the aim is to strengthen trust, expand regional cooperation and underscore the role of women in Afghanistan’s future. One participant confirmed their arrival in Islamabad ahead of the talks.

The anti Taliban to opposition meeting has been repeatedly delayed. It was initially slated for 25–26 June, rescheduled for 25–26 July, then postponed to 25–26 August before being deferred again. Sources attributed the delays to Taliban objections over the participation of Afghan opposition figures invited by the Islamabad-based think tank.

Zalmay Khalilzad, the former US envoy for Afghanistan, criticised Pakistan for hosting the event, calling the move “irresponsible and regrettable.” He said Afghans have the right to voice political opinions but described Islamabad’s backing of the meeting as “immature, provocative and wrong.”

The discussions are expected to focus on the situation in Afghanistan and ways to expand cooperation between Tehran and Islamabad, according to the report.

The visit comes as relations between Pakistan and the Taliban have grown increasingly strained amid rising insecurity in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan provinces. Islamabad accuses the Taliban of sheltering the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP, which has carried out cross-border attacks.

The trip follows a joint meeting on Afghanistan held in New York two days earlier on the sidelines of the 80th session of the UN General Assembly, where the foreign ministers of Iran, China, Pakistan and Russia discussed regional security concerns.