[ti:Taliban Seeks Ties with US, Other Countries] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM [00:00.04]Afghanistan's new Taliban rulers [00:03.08]say they want education and jobs for women. [00:08.00]A top Taliban leader expressed that idea [00:11.32]while talking with The Associated Press (AP) recently. [00:16.44]He said the group seeks to earn [00:18.80]the world's "mercy and compassion" [00:21.32]to help millions of Afghans in need. [00:25.76]Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi [00:29.36]also told the AP that the Taliban government [00:33.20]wants good relations with all countries. [00:36.08]He said it has no problem with the United States. [00:40.04]He urged the United States and other nations [00:43.72]to release up to $10 billion [00:46.08]that were frozen when the Taliban took power. [00:49.76]The Taliban took control of Kabul on August 15 [00:54.00]when the earlier Afghan government fled the country. [00:58.60]"Sanctions against Afghanistan would...not have any benefit," [01:02.40]Muttaqi said from Kabul on Sunday. [01:06.24]"Making Afghanistan unstable [01:08.44]or having a weak Afghan government [01:10.80]is not in the interest of anyone," he added. [01:14.68]His assistants include workers from earlier governments [01:18.32]as well as Taliban fighters. [01:21.64]Muttaqi said he understood the world's anger [01:24.52]over limits on girls' education [01:26.92]and on women in the workforce. [01:29.96]In many parts of Afghanistan, [01:32.28]female students between grades seven and 12 [01:35.88]have not been permitted to go to school since the Taliban took over. [01:41.32]Many female government workers have been told to stay home. [01:46.76]Taliban officials have said they need time to create schools [01:51.32]and workplaces which separate women and men to meet Islamic rules. [01:58.36]The Taliban first ruled Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001. [02:05.04]The group barred girls and women from schools and jobs. [02:10.40]They also banned most entertainment and sports, [02:13.88]and carried out executions in front of large crowds. [02:18.88]But Muttaqi said the Taliban has changed since it last ruled. [02:24.92]Muttaqi said that under the new Taliban government, [02:28.44]girls are going to school all the way through grade 12. [02:32.84]He said the gains are taking place in 10 of the country's 34 provinces. [02:38.80]Private schools and colleges [02:41.40]are operating as they were before the Taliban took power. [02:45.68]And all women who had held jobs in healthcare are working again. [02:51.84]"This shows that we are committed in principle to women participation," he said. [02:57.60]He said the Taliban has not targeted its opponents. [03:01.52]Leaders of the earlier government live without threat in Kabul, he said. [03:06.56]Most of them, however, have fled. [03:10.72]Last month, the international group Human Rights Watch [03:14.36]published a report that said the Taliban killed or caused [03:18.48]more than 100 former police and intelligence officials to disappear. [03:23.32]However, there have been no reports of mass acts of punishment. [03:29.48]He said the Taliban made mistakes in their first months in power [03:33.88]and promised to make reforms to help the nation. [03:37.16]He did not tell the AP what the mistakes were [03:40.88]or what the possible reforms could be. [03:44.80]Muttaqi disputed comments by U.S. General Frank McKenzie. [03:49.64]He said that the terror group al-Qaida [03:52.28]has gotten more powerful in Afghanistan since the Americans left. [03:57.40]McKenzie is America's top military official in the Middle East. [04:02.76]The Taliban promised in a February 2020 agreement [04:06.68]that it would fight terrorism if U.S troops left the country. [04:11.80]Muttaqi said Sunday that the Taliban have kept that promise. [04:16.76]"Unfortunately, there are always allegations [04:19.64]against the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, [04:22.40]but there is no proof," Muttaqi said. [04:26.28]Militants from the Islamic State group [04:28.84]have been carrying out more attacks on the Taliban [04:31.88]and religious minorities in the past four months. [04:35.36]Muttaqi said he does not think the Taliban would cooperate [04:39.40]with the U.S. in a battle against the Islamic State group. [04:43.96]However, he said he hopes that with time [04:46.76]the U.S. will see a Taliban-ruled Afghanistan [04:49.80]as a benefit to the U.S. [04:53.12]"America will slowly, [04:54.80]slowly change its policy toward Afghanistan," he said. [05:00.48]I'm Dan Novak. 更多听力请访问51VOA.COM