A Taliban delegation led by Abdul Haq Akhund, Deputy Interior Minister for Counter-Narcotics has travelled to Qatar to engage in discussions on counter-narcotics efforts and to explore avenues for expanded cooperation with Qatari officials.
The office of the Taliban’s Deputy Minister of Interior for Counter-Narcotics announced on Sunday that the visit took place at the official invitation of the Qatari government.
The statement noted that the agenda includes “joint efforts to control narcotics and expand cooperation” with the Qatari Ministry of Interior. However, it did not provide further details regarding the specific objectives or outcomes of the visit.
Qatar has long been considered one of the Taliban’s key international partners. The Gulf nation hosted the group’s political office in Doha prior to the collapse of the former Afghan government and played a pivotal role in facilitating 18 months of negotiations between the Taliban and the United States, which culminated in the signing of the Doha Agreement in 2020.
In a previous meeting, Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi met with Qatar’s Deputy Prime Minister, Mohammed bin Abdulaziz Al-Khulaifi, and called for strengthened diplomatic ties between Kabul and Doha. Muttaqi described the current relationship with Qatar as positive and expressed optimism about enhancing bilateral relations in the near future.
