ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s special representative on Afghanistan, Asif Durrani, on Sunday held meetings with his counterparts from the United States, United Kingdom and the Netherlands, as several special envoys to Afghanistan discuss increasing engagement with the Central Asian country in Doha.
The two-day meeting, hosted by the UN secretary-general, kicked off on Feb. 18 as various countries discuss a more coordinated response to Afghanistan, which has struggled in its relations with countries worldwide since the Taliban seized power in August 2021.
As day one of the conference ended on Sunday, Afghanistan’s participation at the event remained unclear, as a day earlier the Taliban set conditions for attending the talks. Both Afghan civil society members and the Taliban authorities were invited to the two-day event. The Taliban authorities, however, said on Saturday that their participation in the talks would be “beneficial” if only they were invited as the sole representatives of the country.
Pakistan’s foreign ministry said last week Islamabad’s participation in the meeting is part of its efforts to engage the international community “to strengthen” efforts for lasting peace and prosperity in Afghanistan.
“Doha: held bilateral meetings with counterparts from the US, UK, and the Netherlands,” Durrani wrote on social media platform X. “Also attended Quartet (China, Iran, Russia and Pakistan) meeting of SRAs.”
He separately held meetings with Suhail Shaheen, the head of the Afghan government’s political department in Doha, and Qatar’s minister of state for foreign affairs, Dr. Mohammed bin Abdulaziz bin Saleh Al-Khulaifi.
The UN had extended an invitation to the Taliban authorities to participate in the talks, following their exclusion from the first meeting in May.
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.
