Mullah Yaqoob Mujahid, the Taliban’s defence minister, travelled to Doha to convey condolences to the Qatari government, replacing Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, who remains under a UN travel ban.

The Taliban’s defence ministry said Yaqoob met with Mohammed bin Abdulaziz Al-Khulaifi, Qatar’s minister of state for foreign affairs. Enayatullah Khwarizmi, a ministry spokesman, said the meeting focused on bilateral ties and reaffirmed the Taliban’s support for Qatar. Qatar’s foreign ministry has not commented.

Muttaqi, listed under UN sanctions, requires approval from the Security Council’s sanctions committee for foreign travel. He recently failed to secure authorisation to visit India and Pakistan.

The visit coincided with a summit of Arab and Islamic leaders in Doha to discuss Israel’s recent strike on Qatar and other “hostile actions” by Tel Aviv. The Taliban were not invited.

In a phone call with Al-Khulaifi last week, Muttaqi condemned Israel’s attack, calling it “an aggression beyond all limits” and a “clear violation of international laws, norms and values.” He urged Islamic nations to adopt a united stance against Israel.

Qatar has played a central role in facilitating Taliban diplomacy, hosting the group’s political office in Doha and mediating talks with the United States that led to the 2020 agreement enabling the Taliban’s return to power.

Despite these ties, Doha has not formally recognised the Taliban government. At Monday’s summit, Qatar used Afghanistan’s tricolour flag rather than the Taliban banner and, in official statements, continues to refer to Afghanistan by its republican title instead of the “Islamic Emirate.”