Taliban warn U.S., E.U. of refugee influx if the sanctions continue

Weakening the Afghan government is not in the interest of anyone, says Minister

The new Taliban government in Afghanistan has warned the U.S. and European envoys that continued attempts to pressure them through sanctions will undermine security and could trigger a wave of economic refugees.

Acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi told Western diplomats at talks in Doha that “weakening the Afghan government is not in the interest of anyone because its negative effects will directly affect the world in (the) security sector and economic migration from the country,” according to a statement published late on Tuesday.

The Taliban overthrew Afghanistan’s former U.S.-backed government in August after a two-decade-long conflict, and have declared an Islamic emirate governed under the movement’s hardline interpretation of religious law. But efforts to stabilise the country, still facing attacks from the Taliban’s rival, the extremist group the Islamic State-Khorasan, have been undermined by international sanctions: banks are running out of cash, and civil servants are going unpaid.