Reuters
Published Oct 12, 2021 07:29AM ET
Updated Oct 12, 2021 10:42AM ET
By Andrew Mills
DOHA (Reuters) -Qatar believes that recognising the Taliban government in Afghanistan is not a priority now, and that the focus should be on engaging with the new administration and addressing humanitarian issues, a senior Qatari official said on Tuesday.
Mutlaq Al-Qahtani, special envoy of the Qatari foreign minister, urged other countries to engage more deeply with the Taliban as Afghanistan's de facto authority, while urging the Islamist movement to act as a "responsible" administration and respect the right of women to work and girls to attend school.
"We think this (recognition) is not a priority. What's more a priority as we speak now is the humanitarian, is the education, is free passage of passengers," Qahtani said at a global security forum in Doha.
Qatar, which is hosting talks between Taliban and Western officials in which Mutlaq said he was participating, is seen as one of the countries with influence over the movement.
Mutlaq said the only way forward was to offer the caretaker administration "more collaboration, cooperation and assistance" but that Afghanistan should move towards an inclusive government in an internal process whereby Afghans "decide their future".
Almost two months after the former Western-backed government collapsed and insurgent forces swept into Kabul, the Taliban administration has pushed to build relations with other countries to help stave off a catastrophic economic crisis.
But the Taliban have so far refused to give ground on allowing girls to return to high school, one of the key demands of the international community after a decision last month that schools above the sixth grade would only reopen for boys.
Qahtani said barring girls from study was "not acceptable from a (Islamic) religious perspective".
Girls' education was one of the limited number of unambiguously positive gains from the West's two decades of involvement in Afghanistan.
Doha hosted the Taliban's political office which oversaw the negotiations with the United States that eventually led to the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan in August. It has played a pivotal role in evacuation efforts.
Written By: Reuters
Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.