According to Reuters, Qatari PM Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani held a “secret meeting” with Taliban’s supreme leader Haibatullah Akhunzada, in Kandahar, on 12 May.
The report said that the discussions largely centred around the militant group’s bid to secure recognition in the international community.
Overview
This was Akhunzada’s first meeting with a foreign leader, indicating that the Taliban is open to conversations to end their tensions with the West. In the past, Akhunzada has shown resistance to compromise on the international community’s rights violations issues.
#Qatar's PM met with #Taliban Supreme Leader in #Afghanistan as a sign of the otherwise shy leader that he is willing to engage to end Taliban isolation
— Dr Andreas Krieg (@andreas_krieg) May 31, 2023
Most importantly there appears to be a willingness to reverse ban on girls schoolinghttps://t.co/Ot3LeBrCYz
This is also a success for Qatar’s bid to use its relations with the Taliban to mitigate key issues of its regime and facilitate cooperation with the international community.
Sheikh Mohammed reportedly raised concerns about the deterioration of women’s rights, including access to education and employment. The source said that the meeting was “very positive” and Akhunzada was “very interested” in furthering the dialogue. The Taliban leader additionally reassured the Qatari PM of the group’s “continued efforts on the ground” to curb terrorism.
The source cited by Reuters highlighted that US President Joe Biden’s government was informed about the developments and was “coordinating on all issues discussed.” This indicates that the US government is supportive of deepening discussions with the Taliban, which have currently been held at a low level.
Nevertheless, the Taliban, White House, US State Department, or Qatar’s embassy in Washington have not confirmed the discussions.
Earlier in May, the Taliban was excluded from an UN-led conference on the crisis in Afghanistan, which was held in Doha. In response, Abdul Qahar Balkhi, the Taliban’s foreign ministry spokesperson, said, “Any meeting about Afghanistan without the participation of the Afghan government is ineffective and counterproductive.”
In addition, Suhail Shaheen, Taliban’s ambassador-designate to the UN, called the discussions “discriminatory and unjustified.”
They never gave up! Nothing will change the Taliban. Billions of aids, the UN led engagement since Aug 2021 and the visit of Qatar Emir to Kandahar had zero impact to deter Taliban. https://t.co/tTKrTuWB4L
— Sediq Sediqqi 🇦🇫 (@SediqSediqqi) May 25, 2023
Dismal State of Afghanistan
Since the Taliban’s takeover, the international community’s boycott of the regime has resulted in record levels of Afghans left starving and unemployed.
The situation has been worsened by social restrictions imposed by the Taliban on women’s education and right to work. In fact, the UN said last month that the organisation is facing the “appalling choice” of whether to restore its operation to continue to work for the 38 million Afghans.
However, these discussions could prospectively result in deeper relations between the international community and the Taliban in Afghanistan.