Qatar PM, top Taliban leader hold closed-door meeting in Afghanistan

As per the CNN report, Qatar’s Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani had a closed-door meeting with the top Taliban leader in Afghanistan on May 12.

The secret meeting between Taliban leader Haibatullah Akhundzada and Qatar’s Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani occurred in Kandahar.

The Biden administration revealed details regarding the meeting, according to a CNN report. The State Secretary, Antony Blinken, and the Qatari PM had a conversation after the meeting. The US State Department announced regarding the meeting on May 13, and after that, Blinken appreciated Qatar’s assistance to Afghanistan.

US officials have occasionally met with the Taliban in Doha since the withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan in 2021, and then the Taliban took over the complete administration in their hands.

However, the Taliban was not invited to a United Nations-organised conference on Afghanistan in Doha. Representatives from the United States and Russia, along with several major European aid donors and neighbours like Pakistan, were invited to the two days of closed-door meetings by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in the Qatari capital on Monday, Al Jazeera reported.

Earlier, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that the Taliban would not be invited to the meeting to discuss the dire humanitarian situation in the country and its international isolation. Taliban recognition was not on the agenda; Al Jazeera reported, citing a UN source.

The Taliban has faced backlash for its growing curbs on women, including a ban on education and employment.