Become The Home Of The Taliban's Political Office, Qatar: Recognition Of The Afghan Government Is Not A Priority

Taliban representatives meeting with the United States and the European Union in Doha, Qatar. (Twitter/@Ahmadmuttaqi01)

JAKARTA - Qatari authorities believe acknowledging the Afghan government created by the Taliban is not a priority at the moment, choosing to focus together with the new government on tackling humanitarian issues, a senior Qatari official said on Tuesday.

Mutlaq Al-Qahtani, special envoy for Qatar's foreign minister, urged other countries to engage more deeply with the Taliban as Afghanistan's de facto authority, while urging the group to act as a responsible government and respect the right of women to work, as well as girls. to go to school.

"We think this (recognition) is not a priority. What is more a priority as we speak now is humanity, education, passenger-free travel," Qahtani said at a global security forum in Doha.

Qatar, which hosted talks between the Taliban and Western officials in which Mutlaq said he participated, is seen as one of the countries with influence over the movement.

Mutlaq said the only way forward is to offer more collaboration, cooperation and assistance to the interim administration, but Afghanistan must move towards an inclusive government in the internal process by which the Afghan people decide their future.

Nearly two months since seizing power in Kabul in August, the Taliban has been trying to build ties abroad, averting an economic and humanitarian crisis.

But the Taliban have so far refused to give a reason to allow girls to return to secondary school, one of the main demands of the international community following a decision last month that schools above sixth grade would only reopen to boys.

Qahtani said forbidding girls to study was unacceptable from an Islamic religious perspective.

The education of girls is one of the limited positive benefits of two decades of Western involvement in Afghanistan.

To note, Doha, Qatar hosted the Taliban's political office which oversaw negotiations with the United States, which eventually led to the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan in August. And, plays an important role in the evacuation effort.