Desperate Taliban pledges not to destabilise other countries, but can it be trusted?

<p>
In a bid to get their frozen funds released from the US, Taliban Prime Minister Mullah Mohammad Hassan Akhund, said on Saturday that his government will “not interfere” in other countries' internal affairs. He also appealed to international aid groups to continue offering aid to the Afghan people.<br />
<br />
Akhund made his first-ever broadcast to the nation and used the opportunity to allay international fears that the Taliban will not seek to threaten or destabilise other nations.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.dawn.com/news/1660584/taliban-regime-wont-interfere-in-other-countries-affairs-afghan-pm"><em>The Dawn </em>quoted him</a> as saying: "We assure all the countries that we will not interfere in their internal affairs and we want to have good economic relations with them”. </p>
<p>
The Taliban government is making friendly noises as it pursues an agenda which will allow it access to Afghan government funds currently locked up in the US and also invite humanitarian aid.<br />
<br />
Simultaneously, the Taliban government is focusing on its upcoming talks with the US, to be held in Doha, to open a "new chapter" in its political ties with the US.  <br />
<br />
The US had first held talks with the Taliban group on October 9-10 after the latter uprooted the US-supported democratically-elected Ashraf Ghani government on Aug 15.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.dawn.com/news/1659998/taliban-say-doha-talks-to-open-new-chapter-with-us"><em>The Dawn </em>quotes the Taliban</a> as saying: "At this stage, talks will address opening a new chapter in political relations between the two countries, resolving economic issues, and the implementation of the terms in the previous Doha agreement”.<br />
<br />
On the US agenda is the threat posed by global terror groups ISIS and Al Qaeda. The talks will also be about humanitarian aid for the war-ravaged country.<br />
<br />
The US is still planning to evacuate US citizens and vulnerable Afghans who had worked with the US and its allies and are now at threat from the Taliban militants.<br />
Analysts point out that despite the Taliban’s repeated pledges on non-interference, it is injection of the Haqqani Network, <a href="https://www.indianarrative.com/world-news/haqqani-empire-feeding-on-extortion-kidnapping-drug-trafficking-and-real-estate-steers-taliban-government-in-afghanistan-114060.html">established drug lords and terror kingpins</a>, with ties to the Pakistani ISI, in the Taliban interim government that is the root cause of mistrust.</p>
<p>
HQN head Sirajuddin Haqqani is the country’s interior minister. As India Narrative had earlier reported the HQN has woven a web of alliances with fellow jihadist groups, including al-Qaeda, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU), Lashkar-e-Taiba and others.</p>
<p>
The HQN was handed over the levers of power in Afghanistan after the early September visit to Kabul by the ISI chief  Faiz Hameed. Sirajuddin Haqqani’s  uncle Khalil Haqqani, who has a $5 million bounty, was also included in the cabinet.  There are at least six ministers in the newly formed Taliban government who are directly associated with <a href="https://www.indianarrative.com/world-news/haqqani-empire-feeding-on-extortion-kidnapping-drug-trafficking-and-real-estate-steers-taliban-government-in-afghanistan-114060.html">the most dreaded UN designated terror organisation</a> in Afghanistan. This has left the Biden administration of the US in a tight spot—a situation that will emerge centre stage during the upcoming Doha meeting.</p>