Taliban break promise on higher education for Afghan girls

Afghanistan's Taliban rulers have decided against reopening schools to girls above the sixth grade, reneging on a promise and opting to appease their hard-line base, at the expense of further alienating the international community.

The surprise decision is bound to disrupt Taliban efforts to win recognition from potential donors abroad at a time when Afghanistan is mired in a worsening humanitarian crisis.

U.S. Special Representative Thomas West tweeted his ``shock and deep disappointment'' about the decision, calling it ``a betrayal of public commitments to the Afghan people and the international community.''

West said the Taliban had made it clear that all Afghans have a right to education and urged them ``to live up to their commitments to their people.''