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Qatari and Turkish officials to meet over Kabul airport plans
Turkish and Qatari officials will meet in Doha on Monday night and later travel together to Kabul to discuss a formal deal to operate the Afghan capital’s airport with the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA), Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said.
Turkey has said it would be open to operating Kabul’s Hamid Karzai international airport along with Qatar, following the takeover of Afghanistan by the IEA in August, but only if its security demands are met, Reuters reported.
The airport is landlocked Afghanistan’s main air link to the world at a time when millions in the isolated country face hunger with a harsh winter setting in. On Sunday, Islamic countries pledged to set up a trust fund for Afghanistan.
Ankara has been holding talks on Kabul airport with Doha and said it was working together with Qatar on keeping it operational. Reuters has reported that the United Arab Emirates also held talks with the IEA to run the airport.
Cavusoglu said a Turkish company and a Qatari firm had signed a memorandum of understanding on running a total of five airports in Afghanistan, including Hamid Karzai, but did not name the other four.
“In this framework, we will present the interim government of Afghanistan with joint offers. Our colleagues are heading to Doha tonight and they will travel together to Kabul from there to discuss the issue with the interim government there,” he told a news conference in Ankara on Monday, Reuters reported.
“If our conditions are met, we can operate the airports with Qatar. If the conditions are not met, there is no obligation for us to operate them,” he said.
The Qataris have helped run the airport along with Turkey after playing a major role in evacuation efforts following the chaotic U.S. withdrawal in August. But the IEA had not yet formalized any arrangement, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters in November Turkish and Qatari officials will meet in Doha on Monday night and later travel together to Kabul to discuss a formal deal to operate the Afghan capital’s airport with the ruling IEA, Cavusoglu said.
Cavusoglu also said a possible joint visit to Kabul with foreign ministers from other Islamic countries remained under discussion.
Zalmay Khalilzad, the former US special representative for Afghanistan, has questioned Pakistan’s commitment to the welfare of the Afghan people, citing Islamabad’s policies over the past three decades.
Khalilzad said in a post on X that Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif advocated for the rights of Afghan women during his speech at the UN General Assembly on Friday.
Sharif said: “Fundamental rights of the Afghan people — especially women and girls — must be respected.”
Responding to the remarks, Khalilzad said Pakistan’s policies over the past 30 years raise questions about Sharif’s commitment to Afghan welfare.
He cited Pakistan’s support for militant groups against US forces and what he described as the poor treatment of Afghan refugees as examples.
Khalilzad also said Afghanistan and Pakistan need and should have much better relations, adding that “a reset is necessary.”
India’s Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri met with the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Afghanistan, Rabab Fatima, on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.
Indian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in a post on X that Misri underscored the need to keep addressing the humanitarian needs of the Afghan people as a priority.
Misri also appreciated the role of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) and reaffirmed India’s continued cooperation with the United Nations on Afghanistan.
The meeting comes as Afghanistan continues to face humanitarian and economic challenges, with international agencies warning of significant needs among the Afghan population.
Kazakhstan’s Foreign Minister Mukhtar Tileuberdi has called for pragmatic and coordinated international engagement with Afghanistan, saying the country’s long-term stability is closely linked to the security and sustainable development of Central Asia.
Speaking during the general debate of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Friday, Tileuberdi said humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan remains essential but alone cannot break the cycle of poverty, displacement and dependency.
He said Kazakhstan supports a “pragmatic, coordinated and step-by-step” approach to international engagement with Afghanistan, with the United Nations playing a central role.
Tileuberdi also said Kazakhstan is working with the UN to operationalize the United Nations Regional Centre for the Sustainable Development Goals for Central Asia and Afghanistan in Almaty.
He said the success of the centre should be measured by the results and assistance it delivers to the region.
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