On Tuesday, Qatar’s Foreign Minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, commented on the latest situation in Afghanistan at a joint press conference held with his German counterpart, Heiko Mass. In his statement, the Qatari Minister urged that isolating the Taliban might pave the way to instability in the country, and called on states to make contact with the hardline group to handle security and socio-economic issues in Afghanistan.
“We believe that without engagement, we cannot make… real progress on the security front or on the socio-economic front,” Qatari Minister Mohammed Al Thani said. Emphasizing that a lack of engagement with the Taliban would lead to a vacuum, Sheikh Mohammed asked, “Who is going to fill this vacuum?”
Sheikh Mohammed’s remarks came just a few hours after the US announced that its diplomatic and military involvement in Afghanistan had formally ended.
For his part, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas expressed his country’s willingness to procure humanitarian aid for the war-torn country. He also underlined the importance of collaboration to prevent a humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan.
Regarding the international recognition of the Taliban, which has been discussed since the group took control of the country, Maas stated that recognizing the group is not among the priorities at the current time, acknowledging the necessity of contacting the group to ensure the resumption of operations at the Kabul airport.
Maas said, “Recognizing the Taliban is not on our priority agenda, and we believe that dealing with the Taliban may lead to positive results.”
Besides, the two top diplomats admitted the Taliban should cooperate in combating terrorism. Qatar’s Foreign Minister noted, “Afghanistan is going through a critical stage, and the Taliban must show cooperation in combating terrorism.”
Since the Taliban’s takeover of Kabul on August 14, no country has recognized them as the Afghan government. European countries and the US have issued successive statements, urging the group to establish an inclusive government and comply with human rights.
The Taliban has stated that it has discussed with officials from the previous Afghan government and civil society representatives, and an inclusive government would soon be established.
