U.S. Cancels Taliban Talks, Cites Reversal on Girls Education

U.S. officials cancelled meetings with Taliban representatives that were scheduled on the sidelines of an international conference in Doha, after Taliban leaders reversed earlier pledges to reopen high schools to girls, three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. The meetings had been designed to address several technical and political issues including the independence of Afghanistan’s central bank, humanitarian financing mechanisms, and broader engagement with international institutions.

The U.S. decision, announced on November 29, 2025, followed a wave of international condemnation and small protests in Kabul triggered by the Taliban’s U‑turn on girls’ secondary education. Diplomats and aid groups warned the reversal would complicate efforts to unlock much needed funding and could further isolate Afghanistan from formal financial channels that underpin humanitarian relief and basic public services.

The cancelled talks were an example of how human rights decisions are rapidly translating into financial and diplomatic consequences. Since the Taliban regained control in 2021, Afghanistan has been heavily dependent on cross border humanitarian assistance and donor financing to avoid a broader social collapse. International engagement has been increasingly condition based, with technical cooperation on central bank governance and humanitarian delivery tied to progress on education, women’s rights, and human rights standards.

Suspending dialogue over education threatens to slow movement on central banking issues that are critical to macroeconomic stability. The independence of Afghanistan’s central bank has been a focal point for donors and multilateral institutions as a precondition for restoring formal banking relationships and unlocking international support for currency stability and monetary policy frameworks. Without such engagement, access to foreign exchange lines, correspondent banking services, and structured donor financing are likely to remain constrained, complicating efforts to prevent further economic deterioration.

Humanitarian organizations already face operational challenges from limited financial channels. The meetings in Doha had included discussion of mechanisms intended to channel aid while attempting to insulate humanitarian programs from political disputes. The cancellation increases uncertainty about whether those mechanisms can be advanced and whether international institutions will be willing to expand or normalize assistance in the near term.

The broader economic implications extend beyond immediate aid flows. Prolonged diplomatic isolation can deter private sector recovery, delay reconstruction projects, and keep Afghanistan reliant on emergency relief rather than investment led growth. For donors, the reversal on girls’ education represents a red line that civil society and some governments have signalled they will not compromise, complicating any trade off between short term humanitarian access and longer term human rights objectives.

For now, the U.S. step underlines the fragile calculus facing international actors working in Afghanistan. Progress on technical economic matters will likely remain contingent on political concessions that the Taliban have so far been unwilling to sustain. Absent a reversal, diplomats and aid agencies warned that the path to unlocking broader financial support and stabilizing the economy would grow steeper.