The Taliban government in Afghanistan has confirmed that it is holding talks with the United States on a possible prisoner exchange, DPA reported, quoted by BTA.
The Taliban's deputy spokesman, Hamdullah Fitrat, told the Afghan television “TOLO News“ that several rounds of negotiations have already taken place, but no agreement has been reached so far.
Fitrat indicated that several “innocent” Afghans are still being held in American prisons without trial or conviction.
Earlier this week, American media reported that the outgoing Joe Biden administration was conducting secret negotiations with the Taliban for the release of three American citizens detained in Afghanistan in exchange for at least one Guantanamo prisoner, identified as Muhammad Rahim al-Afghani.
Representatives from about 40 countries, activists and international organizations called for improving access to education for girls from Muslim communities, Agence France-Presse reported, quoted by BTA.
The call was made at a two-day meeting in Pakistan that was ignored by the Taliban government in Afghanistan.
“The Muslim world, including Pakistan, faces major challenges in ensuring equal access to education for girls,“ Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said at the opening of the meeting. "Denying girls education is tantamount to denying them their voice and choice, while also depriving them of the right to a bright future," he added.
Tens of millions of girls are out of school in Muslim-dominated countries including Bangladesh and Nigeria, AFP noted.
Pakistan itself is facing a serious education crisis and has one of the highest rates of out-of-school children in the world: more than 26 million children are affected, according to official figures, mainly due to poverty.
The authorities of neighboring Afghanistan were invited to Islamabad, but the Taliban did not attend the meeting, Pakistani Education Minister Khalid Siddiqui told AFP. He added that "only a few Afghans working for international organizations are present."
Since the Taliban's return to power in 2021, Afghanistan has become the only country in the world where girls and women are not allowed to attend high school or university.
The UN has condemned the ban, calling it "gender apartheid." The Taliban government has rejected the accusations, saying Islamic law "guarantees" the rights of men and women in the country.
Malala Yousafzai, a Pakistani activist and 2014 Nobel Peace Prize winner, will address the meeting today on women's rights.