Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, Qatar’s foreign minister, met with a Taliban delegation headed by Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar on Tuesday to discuss the recent political developments in Afghanistan, according to Qatari foreign ministry.
“Al-Thani and Baradar emphasized the importance of protecting civilians and intensifying the necessary efforts to achieve national reconciliation and work on a comprehensive political settlement,” Ambassador Ahmed Bin Saeed Bin Jabor Al Romaihi tweeted.
The meeting comes as a delegation from the Afghan government is said to go to Qatar to have discussions with the Taliban over the country’s future administration after the Taliban seized control of Kabul on Sunday.
Abdullah Abdullah, the head of Afghanistan’s High Council for National Reconciliation, former President Hamid Karzai, and Islamic Party leader Gulbuddin Hekmatyar are among the delegation’s members. The three diplomats’ visit has been postponed, according to Afghanistan’s Pajhwok news agency, which did not provide any further details.
Afghanistan has reached a tipping point, and international powers are banding together to find a political solution to the increasingly worsening crisis. After weeks of capturing provincial capitals amid a US and NATO troop withdrawal from Afghanistan, the Taliban took Kabul without conflict on Sunday.
Qatar has called for a peaceful transition of power and a ceasefire throughout Afghanistan. Over 50 nations, including the Gulf state, have called for Afghans and foreign nationals to leave in a “safe and orderly manner.”
