Qatar: Isolating The Taliban During Their Past Rule Caused Current Conditions

An illustration of a high-ranking Taliban leader. (Twitter/@suhailshaeen1)

JAKARTA - Qatar's foreign minister warned on Tuesday that isolating the Taliban could lead to further instability, urging countries to engage with violent radicals to tackle security and socioeconomic problems in Afghanistan.

Qatar, a Gulf Arab country that is an ally of the United States (US), has become a Taliban discussion partner, having hosted the Taliban's political office since 2013.

"If we start giving conditions and stop this engagement, we will leave a void, and the question is, who will fill this void?," Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani said in Doha, Qatar with his foreign minister counterpart. Germany Heiko Maas, citing Reuters 1 September.

No country has yet recognized the Taliban as the Afghan government after they captured Kabul on August 15. Meanwhile, many Western countries have urged the Taliban to form governments that are inclusive, while respecting human rights.

"We believe that without their involvement we cannot achieve real progress in the security or socio-economic fields," Sheikh Mohammed said, adding recognizing the Taliban as a government was not a priority.

Meanwhile, German Foreign Minister Maas told reporters Berlin was willing to help Afghanistan, but international aid came with certain preconditions.

"There is no other way to have talks with the Taliban," Maas said, adding the international community could not bear the instability in Afghanistan.

The Taliban, who have held talks with members of the previous Afghan government and other civil society, said they would soon announce a full cabinet. Sheikh Mohammed said the Taliban had shown an openness to the idea of an inclusive government.

To note, the Taliban were known for their harsh rule from 1996 to 2001 when they imposed hard-line interpretations of Islamic law and oppressed women, including forbidding them to study and work.

In addition, the Taliban has sought to assuage concerns by committing to respecting individual rights and asserting that women will be able to study and work under their rule.

"Isolating the Taliban during their last rule 20 years ago led to the current situation," Sheikh Mohammed said.

Since the Taliban captured Kabul, there has been "tremendous engagement" in evacuations and counterterrorism, which has yielded positive results, Sheikh Mohammed said. He added that talks about Qatar providing assistance to run Kabul airport are ongoing and no decision has been made.