Doha conference on Afghanistan

According to the media, during a meeting with the Head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), the Afghan caretaker Foreign Minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi asked the UN official to brief the Afghan authorities about the agenda of the Doha Conference on Afghanistan. According to Muttaqi, the Islamic Emirate delegation will consider its participation in the meeting based on the briefing. Mr Muttaqi also expressed the Islamic Emirate’s stance regarding the UN Security Council Resolution 2721 and emphasized the constructive interaction between the Islamic Emirate and the UN.

The UN-led Doha conference on Afghanistan is scheduled to be held on 18-19 February in Doha Qatar. This will be the second meeting of its kind under the UN Secretary-General’s initiative on Afghanistan. Previously, about 25 countries from across the world including donor nations, P5, and Afghanistan’s neighbouring States attended the May 2023 huddle in Qatar but the Taliban was not invited to the meeting, which failed to produce the required results. The policy of isolation and disassociation from Kabul largely proved to be counterproductive for the global community and the Taliban as well, because the South Asian country experienced the worst economic and humanitarian crises, whereas, the Taliban leaders resorted to their previous policies concerning human and women rights, political exclusiveness and single party rule etc. Therefore, the people of Afghanistan have been the biggest victims of the global isolation and containment of their country.

Realistically, the Doha conference is an important global forum that provides equal opportunities to both, the UN-led global community as well as the Taliban-led Afghan government. Through participation in the global huddle, the Islamic Emirate will be able to put its case to the global community, while the rest of the world will have a window to leverage its influence over the Afghan interim government. There will be a bargain, the global community can achieve its agenda while allowing some concessions to the Islamic Emirate. Similarly, Kabul rulers can pave the way for the global recognition of their rule in the country by admitting some demands of the global community. In fact, the world and the Afghan interim government must avail this occasion and open up a window for cooperation that will not only resolve political and security challenges that stemmed out of the country in the past few months but also bring peace and prosperity to the people of Afghanistan, who deserve it most at this point it time.