Afghanistan's Taliban government is due to send officials to Qatar next weekend to meet with top U.N. officials and envoys from up to 25 countries for a two-day gathering that rights groups have criticized for not including Afghan women.

It will be the third such U.N.-led meeting in Doha, but the first the Taliban has attended.

The Taliban has not been internationally recognized since seizing power in August 2021 as U.S.-led forces withdrew after 20 years of war.