The State of Qatar is present today in everything related to the Afghan issue, and although it is two thousand kilometers away from Kabul, it plays a major role, whether in the process of evacuating people who are afraid of the Taliban’s return to power, or in the signs of attempts to contact the new masters of Kabul, or in efforts to contain the crisis Humanity threatens to spread in the country.
With this introduction, the French newspaper "Le monde" opened an article by the newspaper's veteran correspondent Benjamin Bart, in which he said that Qatar reopened Kabul Airport and rehabilitated in record time the passenger terminal that was damaged in late August, during the wave of flight that followed Taliban entry into Kabul.
The writer explained that Qatar has surprisingly returned to the heart of the diplomatic game, and benefited from its tireless work and mediation in the Afghan crisis, which culminated in the US withdrawal agreement signed with the Taliban in February 2020 in Doha.
Today, Doha, says Bart, has become a mandatory transit point for all countries interested in the Afghan issue, as evidenced by the succession of Western foreign ministers since the beginning of this month on the Qatari capital, so that the head of French diplomacy, Jean-Yves Le Drian - the last of them to come - praised the "exceptional mobilization." carried out by Qatar.
strong partnership
The writer cautioned that about half of the 124,000 Afghans and foreigners who fled Kabul since the fall of the regime of President Ashraf Ghani in mid-August as a result of the departure of American soldiers, passed through Qatari territory, and they were tested for Covid-19, and they were housed, fed, and treated patients. at Doha's expense.
Although other countries contributed to this giant air bridge, such as the UAE, which opened its borders to about 40,000 evacuees, no country did the same as Doha’s efforts, which opened for the arrivals the hotels and complexes built for the Qatar World Cup 2022, but the Qatari ambassador in Kabul personally accompanied the nationals Americans to the airport.
Appreciating what Qatar has done, Bart says, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, accompanied by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, visited Doha, to officially announce that "the men, women, and children who passed this road will not forget what Qatar did at this dangerous time in their lives, and we will also not." Forget it," he said, stressing that "the partnership between the United States and Qatar has never reached this degree of strength."
political capabilities
Bart quoted Sultan Barakat, director of the Center for Conflict Studies and Humanitarian Action in Doha, as saying that "the Taliban has been affected by communication with the rest of the world since it settled in Doha," especially since Qatar does not have interests in Afghanistan unlike other countries, and therefore did not seek to influence the negotiations, and created space for dialogue.
The writer concluded that the Qatari communication channel with the Taliban, after it had been the subject of denunciation for a long time, has become appreciated, and Qatar's ability to talk with Islamist movements and Western advisors at the same time began to be seen as a political advantage after it was referred to as a "double game." by critics of Doha.