A Qatari aircraft landed in Kabul Wednesday carrying a technical team to discuss the resumption of airport operations after the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, according to a source with knowledge of the matter.
\u201cA Qatari jet carrying a technical team has landed in Kabul earlier today to discuss the resumption of operations in the airport,\u201d the source told AFP.
\u201cWhile no final agreement has been reached regarding providing technical assistance, Qatar\u2019s technical team has initiated this discussion based on the other sides\u2019 request.
\u201cTalks are still ongoing at the level of security and operation.\u201d
The source said that the goal was to resume flights for both humanitarian aid and to provide freedom of movement, including the resumption of evacuation efforts.
More than 123,000 foreign nationals and Afghans fled the country in a frenzied airlift operation that wound up on Tuesday, but many more are desperate to depart.
US officials have said Kabul airport is in a bad condition, with much of its basic infrastructure degraded or destroyed.
Taliban fighters celebrated with gunfire on Tuesday after the last US forces abandoned Kabul following a two-decade war.
Qatar hosted negotiations between the Taliban and the US in recent years and was a transit point for about 43,000 evacuees from Afghanistan.
The US invaded Afghanistan and toppled its Taliban government in 2001 in the wake of the 9\/11 attacks by al-Qaeda, which had sought sanctuary in the country.
Western capitals fear Afghanistan could again become a haven for extremists bent on attacks.
Gulf countries, including Qatar, have been instrumental staging posts for evacuation flights for Western countries\u2019 citizens as well as Afghan interpreters, journalists and others.
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