ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will participate in a two-day meeting in Doha hosted by the United Nations for regional envoys to Afghanistan today, Sunday, state-run media said, as the international community discusses increasing engagement with the Taliban-led country amid a host of challenges. 

The world has wrestled with its approach to Afghanistan’s new rulers, the Taliban, who seized power in Kabul in August 2021 after an international coalition of US-led forces pulled out of the country. 

The two-day meeting, which will be hosted by the UN secretary-general, will discuss increasing engagement with Afghanistan and a more coordinated response to the Central Asian nation, Antonio Guterres’ spokesman told reporters on Thursday.

“The two-day meeting of Special Envoys on Afghanistan begins in Doha today,” the state-run Radio Pakistan said in a report on Sunday. “Pakistan’s Special Representative on Afghanistan Asif Durrani will lead country’s delegation at the conference.”

Pakistan’s foreign ministry said on Friday that Islamabad’s participation in the meeting is part of its efforts to engage with the international community “to strengthen” efforts for lasting peace and prosperity in Afghanistan. 

Both Afghan civil society members and the Taliban authorities have been invited to Sunday’s meeting. Taliban authorities said on Saturday that their participation in the Doha talks would be “beneficial” if only they were invited as the sole representatives of the country.
 
The Taliban government has not been officially recognized by any country since it took power. The administration’s strict regulations, primarily against women’s right to education and work, have angered the UN and several foreign countries. 

Governments, aid agencies and international organizations have slashed or massively scaled back funding for Afghanistan in response, complicating problems for a country already reeling from internal conflicts and a deepening economic crisis.