What's behind Taliban's decision to attend UN conference in Qatar?
Taliban Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani (C) kisses the Taliban flag as he reviews the newly recruited Afghan security personnel during their graduation ceremony at the police academy in Kabul on October 5, 2023. - WAKIL KOHSAR/AFP via Getty Images
Afghan Taliban officials will be attending the two-day United Nations conference on Afghanistan on June 30, after skipping two previous gatherings. The attendance itself signals progress and the possibility that the international community might find better ways to deal with the de facto rulers in Kabul. The main aim of the third round of talks is to increase international engagement with Afghanistan in a more coherent, coordinated and structured manner, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said.
Indicating Kabul’s approval, chief Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid told Afghan media that the Taliban government considered the agenda of the upcoming talks beneficial for Afghanistan, so there would be no preconditions this time (…)
Qatar — which is playing a crucial role in engaging with the Taliban and providing them with a meeting place to negotiate with global powers — took on a difficult task considering its relatively small size in the Gulf Cooperation Council. But the effort has paid dividends, with Doha building solid diplomatic credentials at regional and global levels by connecting Afghanistan to third parties.
Ahead of the conference in Doha, InStrat's Khristo Ayad spoke to Al-Monitor to contribute a few pointers on Qatar's intermediary role, highlighting how the country's diplomatic efforts are neither detached from its international partners, nor the realities on the ground.