Qatar becomes ground zero for the world and Taliban

New Delhi: Kabul may be in the news, but it is Doha that has become the magnet. Almost everyone of consequence from Japan to India and the European nations are rushing to the emirate to initiate a dialogue with the Taliban.
The latest in that frenzied diplomatic activity is the UK which has sent its Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab to hold talks with the Amir of Qatar and also the Foreign Minister. Raab is on a regional tour to assess the Afghan situation.
On Raab’s priority list with the Qataris was evacuation of UK nationals and vulnerable Afghans. He also plans to discuss the rehabilitation of Afghan refugees in neighbouring countries so that they do not head over to the UK and Europe.
Raab’s visit was preceded by the UK Prime Minister’s Special Representative for Afghan Transition, Simon Gass, to Doha. The agenda for the talks is to provide a safe passage to the Afghans who have been closely allied with the UK over the last 20 years. This is believed to be the first public diplomatic meeting between the Taliban and the UK.
The UK has identified at least around 150-250 individuals along with their families who have to be relocated. Besides a safe passage for strategic Afghans, UK has not disclosed what else is on the agenda with the Taliban.
Just a day earlier the Dutch Foreign Ministry delegation too arrived in Doha to discuss operations at the Hamid Karzai International Airport (HKIA) Kabul and also evacuating foreign nationals and some Afghans.