Michael Hughes: The agenda item during talks between the U.S. and Taliban in Doha this week was widely expected to be about potentially unfreezing Afghan assets for earthquake recovery efforts. Although that topic was discussed, the State Department said a “central focus” of the dialogue was the Taliban’s restrictions on Afghan women. This emphasis was interesting because the U.S. diplomat in charge of this portfolio was conspicuously missing.

After the talks, Rina Amiri, the U.S. Special Envoy for Afghan Women, Girls, and Human Rights, took to twitter to explain her absence, which gave her an opportunity to question the Taliban government’s legitimacy with a jab at the radical movement’s top diplomat. Click here to read more.