Afghanistan, Only Absentee at Emergency Arab-Islamic Summit in Doha

DID Press: An emergency summit of Arab and Islamic leaders convened in Doha on Monday (September 15) in response to Israel’s airstrike on Qatari territory — with Afghanistan notably absent.

Despite Qatar having hosted the Taliban’s political office in recent years, observers say Doha likely avoided inviting the Taliban-led caretaker government to prevent controversy or distractions at a time when Qatar itself has come under direct Israeli attack.

Arab and Islamic states have yet to recognize the Taliban as Afghanistan’s legitimate government, and extending an invitation to such a high-level summit could have been seen as granting political legitimacy.

The meeting focused on assessing regional consequences of Israel’s strike and adopting a joint response.