Afghanistan: Qatar sends envoy to engage with Taliban

The Qatari government has sent an envoy to Afghanistan’s capital Kabul in an effort to engage with the ruling Taliban administration. The visit follows the Taliban’s latest policy that further restricted women from education and participating in aid work.

The Afghan foreign ministry issued a statement on Sunday, saying that its acting foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi met with the Qatari foreign minister’s special envoy Mutlaq Bin Majed Al-Qahtani. Afghan foreign affairs spokesperson Abdul Qahar Balkhi said that they discussed “political coordination, the strength of the relationship, and humanitarian aid.”

Al-Qahtani’s visit follows the Taliban’s latest policies that barred women from attending universities and taking part in entrance exams, and participating in aid work. The latest policies drew widespread condemnation, with Doha saying that the policies were “deeply concerning.”

While no foreign government has formally recognized the Taliban administration since seizing power in August 2021, China and Pakistan sent their respective foreign ministers in 2022 and the United Nations special deputy representative made a recent visit to discuss women’s rights and humanitarian aid.

Friday last week, the UN special rapporteur for human rights called on the Taliban to release a university lecturer and education activist that was detained by security forces in Kabul. This follows the arrest of Ismael Mashal, who was reportedly distributing academic and other books in Kabul after tearing up his own diploma in protest of the Taliban’s barring of women from entering universities back in December.

UN rights rapporteur Richard Bennett said he was “concerned about yesterday’s arrest of peaceful education activist and university lecturer Ismael Mashal by the Taliban.”

The Taliban information ministry’s head of media monitoring Abdul Haq Hammad said Mashal was arrested by authorities after gathering journalists and assembling a crowd on the streets “creating propaganda against the government.” Hammad said upon visiting Mashal, he found Mashal was detained in good conditions, including heating and was also able to contact his family.

It remains to be seen whether Mashal will be facing formal charges or face further punishment. The international community has said it will not formally recognize the Taliban government of Afghanistan unless the insurgent group changes its course on women’s rights.