Qatar’s Special Envoy of the Minister of Foreign Affairs for Counterterrorism and Mediation in Conflict Resolution Mutlaq bin Majed Al Qahtani met with a number of senior Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) officials on Sunday in Kabul for talks on the current situation in the country.

The Qatari envoy met with IEA Foreign Affairs Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi; Minister of Interior Sirajuddin Haqqani; Minister of Education Habibullah Agha; and Director-General of the General Directorate of Intelligence Abdul Haq Wasiq.

According to a statement issued by the ministry of foreign affairs of Qatar, Al Qahtani discussed “the most important developments in Afghanistan, especially in politics, economy, development, and education.”

He reiterated Qatar’s position supporting all segments of the Afghan people to obtain all their rights, particularly the right to education, especially for girls, and respect for women’s right to work, the statement read.

According to the statement, he also stressed the continuation of Qatar’s endeavors to support and facilitate efforts to reach a comprehensive political consensus that achieves security and stability in Afghanistan.

US President Joe Biden has extended for one more year the national emergency declared in his executive order with respect to the widespread humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan and the “potential for deepening economic collapse” in the country.

On February 11, 2022, Biden by an executive order declared a national emergency to deal with the “unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States” constituted by the widespread humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan and the potential for a deepening economic collapse in the country, the White House said.

“The widespread humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan — including the urgent needs of the people of Afghanistan for food security, livelihoods support, water, sanitation, health, hygiene, shelter and settlement assistance, and COVID-19-related assistance, among other basic human needs — and the potential for a deepening economic collapse in Afghanistan continue to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States,” White House said in a notice released on February 3.

“In addition, the preservation of certain property of Da Afghanistan Bank (DAB) held in the United States by United States financial institutions is of the utmost importance to addressing this national emergency and the welfare of the people of Afghanistan,” the notice said.

“Various parties, including representatives of victims of terrorism, have asserted legal claims against certain property of DAB or indicated in public court filings an intent to make such claims. This property is blocked under Executive Order 14064.”

Local officials in Kandahar province say flights between Kandahar and Dubai have resumed for the first time since the IEA took control of Afghanistan in August 2021.

The head of Ahmad Shah Baba International Airport in Kandahar has said that the flights have been resumed by Kam Air, the largest private airline in Afghanistan.

Kam Air officials meanwhile said that the west and south zones have more traders and industrialists; therefore, they have resumed the flights.

It is said that round-trip flights will also soon start between Kandahar and New Delhi and Kandahar and China.