The special envoy of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has held talks with a senior member of the New Taliban government of Afghanistan in Kabul, officials said.
Senior Civil Employees Simon Gas met Deputy Prime Minister Abdul Ghani Baradar and Abdul Salam Hanafi on Tuesday, the British Foreign Office said.
They discussed how England could help Afghanistan discuss the increasingly deep humanitarian crisis, “terrorism” and the need for a safe passage for those who want to leave the country.
“They also raised minority treatment and the rights of women and women,” said a British government spokesman.
“The government [English] continues to do everything that can ensure a safe passage for those who want to go, and are committed to supporting the Afghan community.”
Gass accompanied by charges of d’affaires from the British mission to Afghanistan in Doha.
Abdul Qahar Balki, spokesman for the Taliban Foreign Ministry, said the meeting “focused on detailed discussions about reviving diplomatic relations between the two countries”.
He added that the Afghan Foreign Minister wanted Britain to “start a new chapter of constructive relations”.
Stefanie Dekker Al Jazeera, reported from Kabul, said the visit was “significant” because there was now a “open communication line” between England and the Taliban.
“I think this is what the international community does, it uses the facts of international recognition of the Taliban as the official official agency of this country, to try and suppress the group to adhere to certain norms they want to see,” Dekker said.
“We are in the time when the Taliban seeks this international legitimacy, they need millions of dollars in funds to help resolve this country,” he added, citing the Afghan economic situation, and concerns about drought and hunger.
“What you see is a political dance,” Dekker said. “I don’t think it means they are close to officially recognizing them as a government, but dialogue is in place.”