DOHA: British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab is expected to arrive in Pakistan on Thursday to hold talks on the evolving situation in Afghanistan in the aftermath of the Taliban takeover of the country.
The two-day trip was finalised on Tuesday by diplomatic officials in Islamabad and London, reports citing people familiar with the development said.
Per his plan, Raab will “visit the region” to hold talks on the evacuation of those left behind in Kabul after the withdrawal of foreign forces.
The foreign secretary was in Qatar where he arrived Thursday hours after he was grilled by MPs on the Foreign Affairs Select Committee about the British withdrawal from Afghanistan.
He defended his handling of the crisis, saying the UK was “caught out” by the speed of the fall of Kabul to the Taliban, with intelligence at the time suggesting it would hold out until the end of the year.
The Taliban seized control of the Afghanistan capital of Kabul last month, but have yet to name an administration or reveal how they intend to govern.
“Personally overseeing” the diplomatic response to the takeover, Raab spoke to his Pakistan counterpart, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, on Sunday, expressing his “deep concerns” about the future of Afghanistan.
“Shared my deep concerns about the future for Afghanistan with FM Qureshi,” Raab wrote on Twitter. “[We] agreed it is critical that the international community is united in telling the Taliban that the violence must end and human rights must be protected.”
Spoke to Pakistani FM @SMQureshiPTI about the second phase of the evacuation to help Afghans who supported us get to the UK. We jointly condemned yesterday’s despicable attack in Kabul. The 🇬🇧 and 🇵🇰 will work closely together to safeguard regional stability
— Dominic Raab (@DominicRaab) August 27, 2021
In Qatar, he admitted there was a need to engage with the Taliban on Afghanistan but said the UK has no immediate plans to recognise their government.
Raab said he had discussed with Qatar ensuring Afghanistan does not harbour terrorism in the future, preventing a humanitarian crisis, preserving regional stability and holding the Taliban to account on their public pledge to set up a more inclusive government.
“Our commitment on the part of the United Kingdom to Afghanistan remains. We need to adjust to the new reality,” Raab told reporters.
According to a statement issued by the Foreign Office, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi would hold official talks with the visiting British dignitary, who is also scheduled to meet other leaders. The statement did not mention the leaders Raab would meet.
Pakistan and the United Kingdom have been closely engaged on the latest developments in Afghanistan, the FO said, noting that the leaders of the two countries had discussed the situation in the war-torn country several times in the last month.
Last month, Prime Minister Imran Khan had received a telephone call from his British counterpart Boris Johnson in which they exchanged views on Afghanistan. Johnson had agreed to remain in touch with Imran.
A day earlier, Dutch Foreign Minister Sigrid Kaag arrived in the country to discuss the Afghan situation, while German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas had also visited last month.
Maas had met Qureshi and Prime Minister Imran during his visit.
