Feb 1, 2022: According to a report by Al Jazeera, Qatar has reached an agreement with the Taliban to resume chartered evacuation flights from Afghanistan, ending a month-long standoff.

Axios News Agency reported Monday, citing an interview with Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, that Qatar and the Taliban had agreed to operate two chartered flights of Qatar Airways each week.

The agreement is expected to allow the evacuation of thousands of vulnerable Afghans and foreign nationals following the withdrawal of US troops and other foreign troops in August last year, when the Taliban captured the capital Kabul after a series of lightning strikes. The update follows an Axios report last week that the United States plans to step up its evacuation and resettlement efforts.

Qatar has been operating sporadic chartered flights from Kabul since September. However, according to Reuters, the flights were canceled in early December amid a dispute with the Taliban that allowed passengers to board. The first evacuation flight in months departed Kabul on January 26 for Doha.

Axios’ interview with Sheikh Mohammed took place on Monday after a meeting between US President Joe Biden and Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani at the White House. US officials have repeatedly praised Qatar’s role in mediating with the Taliban, which has been fighting the United States in Afghanistan for 20 years.

Washington, which does not officially recognize the Taliban as a legitimate government in the country, announced in November that Qatar would act as its representative in Afghanistan. During Monday’s meeting, Biden also informed the Qatari leader that his administration intends to nominate the Gulf state, which is home to the US Central Command in the region, a “major non-NATO ally”.

Qatar is the second Gulf country after Kuwait to receive the designation.

This status would give Doha special economic and military concessions in its relations with Washington. The United States and other Western nations are under pressure to increase the evacuation of Afghans who have worked with foreign forces in the country, and are particularly likely to be targeted by the Taliban.

Lawyers say thousands of Afghans with close ties to the US military are in the country.

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