US signs pacts making Qatar its diplomatic representative in Afghanistan

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - The US and Qatar signed on Friday a series of agreements that formally establishes Doha as Washington's diplomatic representative in Afghanistan.

The pacts establish Qatar as the US's protecting power in Afghanistan, where it ended a 20-year war in August, and set up a US interest section at Qatar's embassy in Kabul that will allow Washington to carry out some diplomatic activities in the war-torn country.

The interest section will allow the US "to provide certain consular services, and monitor the condition of security of US diplomatic facilities in Afghanistan," Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters during a signing ceremony at a bilateral strategic dialogue.

A second agreement formalizes Qatar's role as a US partner facilitating "the travel of Afghans with US special immigrant visas, a role it's already been playing in many instances, and serve as a transit point for eligible Afghans as they complete their application process," added Blinken.

The US shuttered its embassy in August amid its chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan, and has been running its diplomatic operations out of Qatar.

The Biden administration has refrained from offering diplomatic negotiation to Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers after the hardline group carried out a military offensive that forced the collapse of the former internationally-recognized government in Kabul.