The newly appointed Taliban government’s acting Prime Minister Mullah Mohammad Hassan Akhund has met with visiting Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani.
A Taliban official said Qatar’s foreign minister arrived in the Afghan capital of Kabul — the highest-level visitor since the Taliban announced their interim Cabinet. There was no immediate confirmation of the visit by Qatari officials.
During the meeting held at Afghanistan’s Presidential Palace on Sunday, the two sides discussed bilateral relations, humanitarian assistance, Afghanistan’s future economic development, and the international engagement with the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, Xinhua news agency reported, citing the state-run Bakhtar news agency’s report.
The Taliban have maintained a political office in the Qatar capital of Doha since 2013. Last week, Qatar Airways became the first international airline to begin operating international flights out of Kabul airport, transporting more than 250 foreign nationals, including U.S. citizens, out of the capital.
According to the report, Hassan Akhund thanked Qatar for its assistance to the people of Afghanistan, stressing that the Qatari people had helped Afghans in embracing peace and stability and stood alongside Afghans during difficult situations.
The talks also touched upon the importance of international aid to Afghanistan. The Qatari foreign minister hoped that Afghanistan and Qatar “would have good relations in the future,” the report said.
The visit came days after the Taliban announced a caretaker government in Afghanistan on September 7.
Meanwhile, the Taliban government faces enormous economic challenges with near-daily warnings of an impending economic meltdown and a humanitarian crisis. The United Nations warns it could drive 97% of Afghans below the poverty level by the end of the year.
Thousands of desperate Afghans wait daily outside Afghanistan’s banks for hours to withdraw the $200 weekly allotment. In recent days, the Taliban appear to have been trying to establish a system for allowing customers to withdraw funds but it rapidly deteriorates into stick-waving as crowds surge toward the bank gates.
Outside the New Kabul Bank, Afghanistan’s first private bank established in 2004, nearly 2,000 people demanded their money Sunday.
For Zaidullah Mashwani, Sunday was the third day he had come to the bank hoping to get his $200. Each night the Taliban make a list of eligible customers for the following day and by morning Mashwani said a whole new list is presented.
“This is our money. The people have the right to have it,” he said. “No one has money. The Taliban government needs to do something so we can get our money.”