EAM S Jaishankar meets Qatari foreign minister in Doha, discusses Afghanistan situation

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, on Friday, met his Qatari counterpart Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani during his stopover at Doha. The Indian lawmaker was returning from New York where he chaired a high-level meeting of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) earlier this week.

He met Al Thani to discuss the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan. It is imperative to note that Doha also houses the headquarters of the Taliban.

Taking to Twitter, Jaishankar shared an image of himself with Al Thani, who also serves as the Deputy Prime Minister of Qatar. "Met Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani during my stopover in Doha. Had useful exchange of views on Afghanistan,” he wrote.

It has been almost a week since Kabul fell to the Taliban and Afghanistan remains shrouded in fear, pain and desperation. Gruelling visuals of non-combatants, foreign nationals and natives, flocking to airports in a bid to escape the hardliners have surfaced. Scores of people have been killed and tons of humanitarian aid has been stopped at the borders by the Sunni Pashtun militant group.

Rise and Resurgence of Taliban 

Taliban, officially known as the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is an insurgency movement that gained ground in the late 1990s. Throughout their five year regime, the Sunni Pashtuns ruled with an iron fist and imposed an ultra-austere brand of rules. In addendum, they also provided a safe haven to Al Qaeda and other terror outfits.

It was only in 2001 after Al-Qaeda perpetrated the 11 September attacks that the US decided to interfere. Along with NATO allies, it stationed thousands of troops in Afghanistan. Now, two decades later, a tripartite pact between Kabul, Washington and the Taliban led to the pullout of all foreign troops prompting the eventual fall of Kabul. 

The Taliban have pledged to forgive those who fought against them and to restore security and normal life to the country after decades of war. But many Afghans fear a return to the Taliban’s harsh rule from the late 1990s, where they banned films and music, restricted women to their houses, chopped off hands of suspected thieves and held public executions. 

(Image: @DrSJaishankar/Twitter)