The US has cancelled meetings with the Taliban in Qatar in response to the group's order to shut girls' secondary schools in Afghanistan until further notice. "Their decision was a deeply disappointing and inexplicable reversal of commitments to...Afghan people...and also to the international community," a US official said. Notably, the talks were set to address key economic issues in Afghanistan.
Girls and women in Afghanistan protested against the Taliban government's decision to shut girls' secondary schools just hours after re-opening them this week. Protestors were heard chanting "Open the schools! Justice, justice!" and holding banners that read, "Education is our fundamental right, not a political plan." Female Foreign Ministers from 16 nations have also condemned Taliban's decision.