Taliban and US officials to meet amid quake relief efforts

By RAHIM FAIEZ and AYA BATRAWY
Associated Press

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Afghan finance and central bank officials from the Taliban-led government have departed for Qatar to meet with U.S. officials. The move comes after last week’s deadly earthquake highlighted how critical relief efforts have stumbled under the weight of the country’s spiraling economic woes. The quake in southeastern Afghanistan killed at least 770 people. That’s according to the U.N, though the Taliban put the figure at around 1,150 people killed. Wednesday’s meeting in Qatar was confirmed by Afghanistan’s foreign ministry. The Washington Post first reported that Biden administration officials are considering ways to allow Afghanistan’s government to use its frozen central bank reserves to tackle the humanitarian crises there.