Qatar warns isolating Taliban could further destabilize Afghanistan

Qatar’s foreign minister on Tuesday warned that isolating the Taliban could lead to further instability and urged countries to engage with them to address security and socioeconomic concerns in Afghanistan.

The U.S.-allied Gulf Arab state has emerged as a key interlocutor to the Taliban, having hosted the group’s political office since 2013.

“If we are starting to put conditions and stopping this engagement, we are going to leave a vacuum, and the question is, who is going to fill this vacuum?,” Sheik Mohammed said in Doha, alongside his German counterpart, Heiko Maas.

No country has recognized the Taliban as the government of Afghanistan after their capture of Kabul on August 14. Many western states have urged the Taliban to form an inclusive government and to respect human rights.

“We believe that without engagement we cannot reach…real progress on the security front or on the socioeconomic front,” Sheikh Mohammed said, adding that recognizing the Taliban as the government was not a priority.

Qatar’s Sheikh Mohammed said the Taliban had showed openness towards the idea of an inclusive government.

The Taliban have sought to alleviate concerns by committing to respecting individual rights and affirming that women will be able to study and work under their rule.

Sheik Mohammed said isolating the Taliban during their last rule 20 years ago led to the current situation. Since the Taliban took Kabul, there has been “tremendous engagement” on evacuations and counterterrorism, which delivered “positive results,” he said.

He added that talks on Qatar providing assistance to the running of Kabul’s airport were ongoing and no decision had been made.