UN official and Taliban minister meet over Afghan women NGO ban

The UN mission in Afghanistan said in a tweet that its acting head, Ramiz Alakbarov, met with Mr Hanif on Monday and called for a reversal of the ban.

The acting head of the UN Mission in Afghanistan, Ramiz Alakbarov, meets with the Taliban government’s economy minister Qari Din Mohammed Hanif in the Afghan capita, Kabul (Abdul Rahman Habib/Economy Ministry spokesman via AP)

The top UN official in Kabul has met with a Taliban government minister in Afghanistan’s capital, following a decision by the country’s new rulers to bar women from working for non-governmental organisations, the UN mission said.

The ban has already prompted four major international aid agencies to suspend operations in Afghanistan, raising the possibility that millions of people will be left without food, education, healthcare and other critical services during the harsh winter months.