Qatari PM, Spymaster Meet Taliban PM in Kandahar City

Abdulrahman Al-Thani, Qatari Prime Minister, and Abdullah Al-Khalifa, the country’s intelligence chief, met with Taliban’s Prime Minister in Kandahar. The Taliban spokesperson said that the Qatari delegation reiterated their commitment to strengthen relations with the Taliban.

According to Zabihullah Mujahid, the Taliban spokesperson, during the meeting with Mullah Hasan Akhund, the Taliban’s Prime Minister, the Qatari delegation discussed cooperation in education, health, and economic sectors.

In September 2021, Abdulrahman al-Thani visited Kabul as Qatar's foreign minister and met with Taliban officials.

Mujahid on Friday said that the Prime Minister of the Taliban asked the Qatari authorities to play a bigger role in bridging the gap between Afghanistan and the international community.

This is the first visit of the Prime Minister of Qatar to the city of Kandahar. The Taliban’s cabinet and senior officials are stationed in Kabul while Kandahar is considered the main base of the Taliban. Sources said that Hibatullah Akhundzada, the leader of the Taliban, lives in Kandahar city.

Qatar enjoys close relations with the Taliban. Since 2013, the country allowed the Taliban to open its political office in Doha.

The Doha agreement between the US and the Taliban was signed in Qatar in 2020. Also, Doha hosted intra-Afghan peace talks between the Taliban and the previous government of Afghanistan.

Despite Qatar's close relationship with the Taliban, Qatari officials, including the country's foreign minister, have repeatedly criticised the Taliban's policies on women's education and work.