A well-informed source confirmed today, Wednesday, that Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani held secret talks with Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada this month in Afghanistan. The discussions focused on ways to ease tensions with the international community, indicating the Afghan rulers' desire to explore options for ending their isolation.
The source, who requested anonymity, noted that the Biden administration was informed about the meeting and is "coordinating on all issues raised in the discussions between the two sides with Qatar, including facilitating further dialogue with the Taliban." The Qatari Prime Minister raised other issues with the Taliban leader, including the necessity of ending the ban imposed by the Taliban on girls' education and women's employment.
The meeting, held in the Afghan city of Kandahar on May 12, is the first publicly announced meeting between a Taliban leader and a foreign official. It represents a diplomatic success for Qatar, which has criticized the Taliban's restrictions on women while leveraging its long-standing connections with the Islamist movement to advocate for greater international engagement with Kabul.
The source's statements indicate that Washington supported the elevated level of talks after lower-level discussions yielded no results, hoping to achieve a breakthrough to end the unprecedented ban globally and alleviate the dire humanitarian situation and the financial crisis that have driven millions of Afghans into hunger and unemployment.
Reuters reported from its sources that "the meeting was very positive," and that Akhundzada is "very interested" in continuing the dialogue with the international community. Prime Minister Mohammed raised with Akhundzada the need to lift the ban on girls' education and employment, which includes prohibiting them from working with UN agencies and other relief organizations, as well as addressing the Afghan humanitarian crisis.
Additionally, Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman discussed with Akhundzada the issue of "ongoing efforts on the ground" by the Taliban to combat terrorism, seemingly referring to Kabul's aim to eliminate a group affiliated with the Islamic State. According to Reuters, Sheikh Mohammed, who also serves as Qatar's foreign minister, met with Taliban Prime Minister Mullah Hasan Akhund on the same day he met with the movement's leader, accompanied by the head of Qatari intelligence.
