Taliban call for return of bank funds, ending curbs in meeting with U.S. envoy

FILE PHOTO: Taliban soldiers are seen at a checkpoint at the entrance of Kabul University in Kabul, Afghanistan, June 14, 2023. REUTERS/Ali Khara/File Photo

KABUL (Reuters) - The Taliban-run Afghanistan administration said on Monday it had met U.S. Special Representative Tom West in Qatar and discussed the lifting of travel and other restrictions on Taliban leaders and the return of Afghan central bank assets parked abroad.

The Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan in 2021 after foreign forces ended a 20-year presence in the country. But the government formed by the Islamist movement, which it calls the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA), is yet to be recognised by any country and faces travel and financial sanctions.