DOHA: Formal contact has once again been established between Pakistan and the Afghan interim government in Doha.
The Afghan delegation, participating in the United Nations-sponsored Afghan conference, met with the Pakistani delegation following initial discussions with the Indian delegation on the first day.
This renewed interaction aims to discuss regional stability and cooperation.
The meeting was held at the residence of the Pakistani ambassador to Qatar. In his remarks, the Pakistani ambassador highlighted the commonalities between Pakistan and Afghanistan, emphasizing that the desire for peace is strong on both sides.
Sources revealed that the meeting between the Pakistani and Afghan delegations was positive. The Afghan delegation expressed gratitude to Pakistan for supporting Afghanistan’s stance at the conference and appreciated the public-level support extended by Pakistan.
The head of the Pakistani delegation, Asif Durrani, and the spokesperson for the Afghan Taliban government, Zabihullah Mujahid, were present at the meeting.
However, the UN has clarified that the intention of holding talks with the Taliban does not mean recognition, stating “This is not a meeting about recognition. This is not a meeting to lead to recognition … Having engagement doesn’t mean recognition,” DiCarlo told reporters.
“This isn’t about the Taliban. This is about Afghanistan and the people.”
Earlier, Representatives of Afghanistan’s Taliban government began meetings on Sunday with UN officials as they attended talks in Doha with special envoys to the Central Asian country for the first time, a UN spokesperson said.
The two-day, UN-hosted meeting in Qatar is the third of its kind in the gas-rich emirate in just over a year but the first to include Taliban authorities who seized power in Afghanistan in 2021.
“Preparatory discussions have begun with the UN meeting separately with many of the special envoys in attendance and with the Taliban representatives,” the UN spokesperson, who asked not to be named, told media.
UN officials and over 20 envoys, including the US special representative to Afghanistan, were expected to meet with the Taliban government’s delegation led by spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid.
The talks in Doha were due to discuss increasing engagement with Afghanistan and a more coordinated response to the country, including economic issues and counter-narcotics efforts. –Agencies
