ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s state minister for foreign affairs Hina Rabbani Khar is part of a high-level meeting being held in Doha today, Monday, where UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has gathered international envoys to find ways to influence Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers on issues concerning human rights.

The Taliban have vexed western countries in particular by imposing restrictions on Afghan women and girls that bar them from seeking employment or education. Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and other countries have criticized the Taliban’s moves and urged the Taliban to allow women more freedoms in the war-torn country. 

The Taliban government, which took back power in August 2021, will be absent from the talks with representatives from about 25 countries and international organizations, according to diplomats. The details of the meeting have been kept secret and it is also not known which other countries are taking part in it. 

According to the UN, the aim of the meeting is to reinvigorate international engagement around key issues, such as human rights, in particular women’s and girls’ rights, inclusive governance, countering terrorism and drug trafficking in Afghanistan. 
 
“The Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Hina Rabbani Khar is attending the Meeting of Special Envoys on Afghanistan being held from 1st to 2nd May 2023 in Doha Qatar, being held under the auspices of the United Nations,” Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) said in a statement. 
 
MoFA said apart from attending the meeting, Khar would also hold bilateral meetings with leaders of other countries taking part in the conference. It said the minister would present Pakistan’s perspective regarding Afghanistan and work on building a consensus “regarding the way forward” with international and regional partners.
 
“Pakistan will continue to support all efforts to advance the shared objectives of a peaceful, stable, sovereign, prosperous and connected Afghanistan,” MoFA added. 

Pakistan’s ties with Afghanistan have remained strained over the past couple of months due to cross-border tensions between the two neighbors. As Pakistan faces a rising number of militant attacks on its soil, it has called on Afghanistan to rein in militants that it accuses of operating from Afghan soil. 

Despite tensions between the two, Islamabad has urged the international community to engage the Taliban government and not ignore the country’s humanitarian crisis.