Qatari PM, Taliban Chief Hold Secret Afghan Talks: Report
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The Qatari prime minister held secret talks with the top leader of the Taliban this month on resolving tension with the international community, a source briefed on the meeting said.
It signals a new willingness by Afghanistan's rulers to discuss ways to end their isolation.
The May 12 meeting in the southern Afghan city of Kandahar between Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani and Haibatullah Akhunzada is the first the reclusive Taliban chief is known to have held with a foreign leader.
US President Joe Biden's administration was briefed on the talks and is "coordinating on all issues discussed" by the pair, including furthering dialogue with the Taliban, said the source, Reuters reported.
The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said other issues Sheikh Mohammed raised with Haibatullah included the need to end a Taliban ban on girls' education and women's employment.
The meeting represents a diplomatic success for Qatar, which has criticized Taliban restrictions on women while using long-standing ties with the group to push for deeper engagement with Kabul by the international community.
The source's comments suggested that Washington supported elevating what have been unproductive lower-level talks in the hope of a breakthrough that could end the world's only bans of their kind and ease dire humanitarian and financial crises that have left tens of millions of Afghans hungry and jobless.
