KABUL, 12 October 2021, (TON): The Taliban will hold face-to-face talks with European Union officials, the acting foreign minister said, in a diplomatic push by the hardline group for international support.

The Taliban are seeking recognition, as well as assistance to avoid a humanitarian disaster, after they returned to power in August following the withdrawal of US troops after 20 years of war.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday urged the world to donate more money to Afghanistan to head off its economic collapse, and he slammed the Taliban's "broken" promises to Afghan women and girls.

The Taliban's Acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi said the meeting with the EU would take place on Tuesday, days after he led the Taliban's first in-person talks with United States officials since the American pullout.

The Taliban badly need allies as Afghanistan's economy is in a parlous state with international aid cut off, food prices rising and unemployment spiking.

The regime, still yet to be recognised as a legitimate government by any other country, is also facing a threat from the Islamic State-Khorasan (IS-K), who have launched a series of deadly attacks.