Tokyo, 10 September, /AJMEDIA/
A commercial flight carrying people left behind in Afghanistan has departed from Kabul’s airport and landed in Qatar’s capital of Doha.
It was the first international passenger flight from the airport since the completion of the US troop withdrawal from Afghanistan on August 30.
Western media outlets said a charter plane of state-owned Qatar Airways transported around 200 people, including Americans, Europeans and Afghans, on Thursday.
Qatar’s government has been building relations with the Taliban. It sent a technical team to Kabul’s airport to help it reopen for international flights.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken revealed earlier this week in Qatar that the United States has been engaging with the Taliban to seek their cooperation to allow Americans out of Afghanistan.
Qatar’s Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani spoke in Pakistan, expressing gratitude to the Taliban for their cooperation in allowing the flight to leave Afghanistan. He called it “a positive message.”
The minister also encouraged the Taliban to ensure their government is “more inclusive” and brings “all Afghans under one umbrella.”
