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German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas (L) and Qatar's Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed give a press conference in Doha, Qatar, August 31, 2021. /CFP
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 the group to address security and socio-economic concerns in Afghanistan.
The 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?" Sheikh 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 states have urged the group to form an inclusive government.
"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.
German Foreign Minister Maas told reporters Berlin was willing to help Afghanistan but that international assistance comes with certain prerequisites.
The Taliban, who have held talks with members of the previous Afghan government and others in civil society, have said they would soon announce a full cabinet.
Sheikh Mohammed said the group had shown openness towards the idea of an inclusive government.
The Taliban were known for harsh rule from 1996 to 2001 when they enforced a hardline interpretation of Islamic law and repressed women, including banning them from study and work.
The Taliban have sought to alleviate concerns by committing to respecting individual rights and affirming that women will be able to study and work, but within the framework of the Islamic Sharia Law.
Sheikh Mohammed said isolating the Taliban during their last stint in government 20 years ago led to the current situation.
Since the Taliban retook Kabul, there has been "tremendous engagement" on evacuations and counterterrorism that had 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.
Germany's Maas said, "There is no way around talks with the Taliban," adding that the international community could not afford instability in Afghanistan.
India has 1st official contact with Taliban
India established the first official contact with the Taliban with the Indian ambassador to Qatar holding talks with a top Taliban leader on Tuesday, an official at India's Ministry of External Affairs said.
The meeting took place at the Taliban's request, said the ministry in a written statement.
In the statement, the ministry said that Ambassador Deepak Mittal met Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanekzai, the head of the Taliban's Political Office in Doha at India's embassy in Doha.
"Discussions focused on safety, security and early return of Indian nationals stranded in Afghanistan. The travel of Afghan nationals, especially minorities, who wish to visit India also came up," the statement said, and added that India's ambassador raised India's concern that Afghanistan's soil "should not be used for anti-Indian activities and terrorism in any manner."
The Taliban representative assured the ambassador that these issues would be positively addressed.
Tajikistan says won't recognize a Taliban-only government
Tajikistan has said it won't recognize an exclusively Taliban government.
The country had kept quiet about the fast-changing situation. It was the only neighbor of Afghanistan that did not talk with the Taliban before the group took control of most of the country, according to media reports.
On August 25, Tajik President Emomali Rahmon met Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and said his government would not recognize a Taliban government that did not include representatives from minority groups, naming specifically Afghanistan's Tajik population.
Around 500 Russian motorized infantry troops are carrying out drills in the mountains of Tajikistan against the backdrop of instability in neighboring Afghanistan, Russia's defense ministry was quoted as saying on Monday.
A life of uncertainty along the Tajik-Afghan border
Return of Taliban and the future of Afghanistan
(With input from agencies)
(Cover: Taliban members gather and make speeches in front of the Herat governorate after the completion of the U.S. withdrawal, in Herat, Afghanistan, August 31, 2021. /CFP)
