Taliban Attends UN Meeting in Doha, Engages with Indian Officials

For the first time, the Taliban participated in a United Nations (UN) meeting in Doha, Qatar, which began on Sunday. This event has drawn significant attention, especially from women’s rights activists worldwide.

During the meeting, discussions centered on Afghanistan’s struggling economy and the impact of Western sanctions. The Taliban’s spokesperson, Zabihullah Mujahid, highlighted that despite the regime’s ban on poppy cultivation, there has been no progress in lifting the sanctions imposed by the international community.

In a notable development, an Indian delegation led by senior diplomat J.P. Singh, who oversees the Ministry of External Affairs’ (MEA) Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iran (PAI) Division, met with Taliban representatives before the UN meeting. According to a statement from the Taliban government spokesperson, there was an exchange of views on the development of relations between India and Afghanistan. India expressed support for the Taliban’s position in the Doha meeting, and the Taliban thanked India for its assistance to Afghanistan.

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar also visited Doha a day before the UN meeting. He held talks with Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani. This visit marked Jaishankar’s third overseas trip and his second to West Asia since taking office for a second term in June.

Before the UN meeting, the Taliban engaged in discussions with diplomatic delegations from Uzbekistan, Russia, and Saudi Arabia. The Taliban stated that Saudi Arabia is keen to reopen its embassy in Kabul “as soon as possible.”

Despite these diplomatic engagements, Afghanistan remains economically crippled under UN and Western sanctions, with its central bank’s foreign reserves still frozen. However, some neighboring countries, like Kazakhstan, have removed the Taliban from their list of prohibited groups. Russia is reportedly considering a similar move, and China officially recognized an ambassador appointed by the Taliban regime in February.

During his speech at the UN-led meeting in Doha, the Taliban spokesperson emphasized that “economic orientation” is central to the regime’s foreign policy. He expressed gratitude to countries providing humanitarian aid but stressed that the main solution to Afghanistan’s economic challenges is the removal of sanctions.

He also highlighted the regime’s efforts to enhance regional connectivity through projects like the transportation railway from Uzbekistan to Afghanistan, which aims to link Central Asia with South Asia. A joint protocol for the ‘Trans-Afghan project’ was signed in Islamabad last July, envisioning a 700-km railway line connecting Uzbekistan’s and Pakistan’s railway networks through Afghanistan. Although progress has been slow, the project is expected to be completed by 2027. Other regional projects, such as the Turkmenistan–Afghanistan–Pakistan–India (TAPI) Pipeline, have faced significant delays due to security issues.

Mujahid described the Doha meeting as a crucial opportunity to engage in constructive dialogue about the sanctions imposed on some officials and Afghanistan’s financial and banking sectors, as well as broader challenges. He acknowledged that some countries might have issues with certain measures of the Islamic Emirate but emphasized the importance of experienced diplomats finding ways to interact and understand rather than confront.

(Edited by Gitanjali Das)

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