Representatives of Afghanistan’s Taliban government began meetings with UN officials

DOHA, June 30 (SABAH): Representatives of Afghanistan’s Taliban government began meetings on Sunday with UN officials as they attended talks in Doha with special envoys to the Central Asian country for the first time, a UN spokesperson said.

The two-day, UN-hosted meeting in Qatar is the third of its kind in the gas-rich emirate in just over a year but the first to include Taliban authorities who seized power in Afghanistan in 2021.

“Preparatory discussions have begun with the UN meeting separately with many of the special envoys in attendance and with the Taliban representatives,” the UN spokesperson said.

UN officials and over 20 envoys, including the US special representative to Afghanistan, were expected to meet with the Taliban government’s delegation led by spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid.

The talks in Doha were due to discuss increasing engagement with Afghanistan and a more coordinated response to the country, including economic issues and counter-narcotics efforts.

In the aftermath of the Taliban’s return to power, the international community has grappled with its approach to Afghanistan’s new rulers.

The Taliban authorities had been excluded from the first round of UN talks in May 2023 and declined to attend the second round in February, demanding that their delegation be the only Afghan representatives.

In a push to include Taliban government representatives, that condition has been met with the exclusion of civil society groups which will meet with representatives on Tuesday instead.