KABUL, 14 December 2021, (TON): A top Taliban leader said in a rare interview “Afghanistan’s new Taliban rulers are committed in principle to education and jobs for girls and women, a marked departure from their previous time in power, and seek the world’s mercy and compassion to help millions of Afghans in desperate need.”

Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi also told The Associated Press that the Taliban government wants good relations with all countries and has no issue with the United States.

He urged Washington and other nations to release upward of $10 billion in funds that were frozen when the Taliban took power Aug 15, following a rapid military sweep across Afghanistan and the sudden, secret flight of US-backed President Ashraf Ghani.

“Sanctions against Afghanistan would not have any benefit” Muttaqi said on Sunday, speaking in his native Pashto during the interview in the sprawling pale brick Foreign Ministry building in the heart of the Afghan capital of Kabul.

Muttaqi said “making Afghanistan unstable or having a weak Afghan government is not in the interest of anyone.”

Muttaqi acknowledged the world’s outrage at the Taliban-imposed limitations on girls’ education and on women in the workforce.