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To Oslo, where the Taliban kicked-off a series of talks with Western officials amid the aggravating situation in Afghanistan.
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Afghanistan's acting Foreign Minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi, kicked off three days of talks at a hotel in the snow-capped mountains above the Norwegian capital, Oslo, with Western government officials and Afghan civil society representatives in attendance.
The closed-door meetings marked the first time that the Taliban and Western countries are meeting ever since the lightning blitz in Afghanistan that witnessed the Taliban depose the former Afghan president leading the U.S.-backed government.
Speaking at the end of the first day of talks, a Taliban delegate portrayed the talks as the Taliban's first step to legitimise the military regime, adding that this kind of communication will invite Western countries to erase the untrue picture of the Afghan government.
While the Taliban appear to be hedging their bets, the debate over whether to legitimise the newly-installed Taliban military government are sparked once again.
The talks may bug the Norwegian hosts of that meeting. Earlier, the Norwegian Foreign Minister said the gripe remains the same -- the talks are not aimed at recognising or legitimizing the Taliban.
On Sunday, 200 protesters converged on an icy square right in front of the Norwegian Foreign Ministry in Oslo to condemn the meetings.
The United Nations has managed to provide the Taliban with some leeway in terms of allowing the administration to pay for imports, including electricity.
Back in Afghanistan, the humanitarian conditions there are still not palatable, which has been a running sore. Rubbing the salt in the wound, freezing temperatures this winter are signalling that misery has set for the some 23 million people suffering the brunt of the crisis -- severe hunger, starvation and that people are devoid of heaters.
Rough estimates reveal that nearly 9 million Afghans are on the verge of starvation.
As a last resort, people are selling their possessions to purchase food, with some of them even burning furniture for warmth and selling their children.
All this, as the Taliban remain obdurate on its stricture and a renewed open season on women's rights and freedom, not making good on their promise to grant amnesty to women in the country.
In addition to support from aid groups and international agencies, U.S. President Joe Biden's administration announced earlier this month that humanitarian aid worth 308 million U.S. dollars will be delivered to Afghanistan.
The U.N. and organisations like the World Bank are also working in unison to offer additional help to the hundreds of thousands in need.
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