Taliban set unacceptable conditions for attending a UN meeting, says UN secretary-general

DOHA, Qatar (AP) — The U.N. secretary-general says the Taliban set unacceptable conditions for attending a meeting about Afghanistan. Antonio Guterres says Taliban demands included the exclusion of Afghan civil society members from the talks in Doha, Qatar, and treatment that amounted to official recognition of the Taliban as the country’s legitimate rulers. The Taliban seized power in 2021, as U.S. and NATO forces withdrew following two decades of war. No country recognizes them as Afghanistan’s government, and the U.N. has said that recognition is almost impossible while bans on female education and employment remain in place. The two-day meeting in Doha brought together member states and special envoys. But the Taliban didn’t attend because their demands had not been met.