British Envoy in Kabul as Taliban Seek to Break Isolation

FOOLS_NIGHTMARE · Oct 5, 2021

A senior British envoy held talks with top Taliban officials in Kabul on Tuesday -- the first since foreign forces evacuated from Afghanistan -- as the country's new masters seek a path out of international isolation.

The hardline extremist movement declared a new regime after overrunning the capital in August and ousting the US-backed government.

But after 20 years of war the aid-reliant country faces economic collapse, with major donors pausing funding and no emergency support in place.

The new rulers have been courting hesitant foreign powers in a bid to restart cash flows to the country, where civil servants and healthcare workers have gone months without salaries.

Taliban officials tweeted pictures of the first meeting between Simon Gass, Britain's special representative for Afghanistan, and deputy prime ministers Abdul Ghani Baradar and Abdul Salam Hanafi.

The British team, which flew in on a flight facilitated by Qatar, secured the release of Ben Slater, a former British soldier who was detained by the Taliban on the Pakistani border last month as he tried to escort Afghan refugees to safety.

He flew out of Kabul with the British delegation, a UK government official said.

The two sides discussed how Britain can help Afghanistan battle terrorism and a deepening humanitarian crisis -- and provide safe passage for those who want to leave the country, a UK government spokesperson said.

"They also raised the treatment of minorities and the rights of women and girls," the spokesperson added, adding that Gass was joined by Martin Longden, charge d'affaires at the now evacuated UK mission to Afghanistan.

Abdul Qahar Balkhi, the Taliban's foreign ministry spokesman, said the meeting "focused on detailed discussions about reviving diplomatic relations between both countries".

But a UK official was more cautious, stressing that the visit did not represent recognition or "legitimacy" for the Taliban, but rather opening a channel of communication and contact building

"We're being really realistic," the official said. "It's good to be able to get in and get out safely. It's about pragmatic dialogue, securing safe passage, humanitarian assistance and counter-terrorism."

Western governments have warned that the Taliban must form an "inclusive" government and respect human and women's rights if they are to be formally recognized.

Neighboring Pakistan, however, has been pushing for the international community to engage with the new rulers and help stabilize a country threatened by famine.