According to individuals familiar with the
negotiations, the Taliban and the United Arab Emirates are close to agreeing on
a plan that would see the Gulf state manage Kabul Airport as well as a number
of other airports in Afghanistan.
In order to control Kabul Airport, landlocked
Afghanistan's primary air link with the rest of the world, the Taliban, whose
government continues to be an international pariah without official
recognition, have courted regional nations like Qatar and Turkey.
But following months of back-and-forth negotiations in
which the Taliban at one time suggested a joint UAE-Turkey-Qatar agreement, the
sources claimed that the Taliban is now prepared to hand over full control of
the operations to the UAE, which has previously managed Afghan airports.
A deal would make it easier for Islamist extremists to
communicate with the outside world while ruling a poor nation plagued by
drought, widespread hunger, and an economic crisis. Additionally, it would give
Abu Dhabi the upper hand in its influence struggle in diplomacy with Qatar.
As part of the agreement with the UAE, Afghans will
work at the airports, including in security positions. According to sources,
this is important for the Taliban because they want to demonstrate their
ability to employ people and also because they vehemently oppose the presence
of foreign soldiers.
While talks over airspace management are ongoing, they
said a security firm affiliated with the Emirati government has been hired and
should shortly be disclosed.
Shortly after Taliban officials visited Abu Dhabi in
May, the militants gave the ground services contract to UAE state-linked GAAC,
which was in charge of managing security and ground handling services at Afghan
airports prior to the Taliban takeover.
Around the same time, sources claim, negotiations
between Qatar and Turkey and the Taliban fell through.
Officials from the UAE declined to comment when
contacted by Reuters. A request for comment from GAAC received no response.
A spokesman for the Taliban transport ministry
acknowledged that an agreement on aviation security had previously been reached
with the UAE, but added that the agreement on air traffic was still being
worked out or confirmed.
Although Kabul Airport would serve as a significant
source of intelligence on movements into and out of the country, there are few
direct financial benefits associated with its operations.
According to the sources, UAE airlines, which have not
operated flights to Afghanistan since the Taliban took control last year, are
anticipated to start operating again to Kabul and perhaps other Afghan
airports.
If the UAE agreement can address significant security
concerns such as the threat posed by the Afghan branch of the Islamic State,
whose targets have included the Taliban, other airlines that have previously
stopped operating flights may also do so again.
According to the sources, the Taliban frequently made
mysterious changes to the members of its team that was negotiating with Qatar
and Turkey in the months before the ground services were granted to the UAE.
The Taliban later attempted to change the terms of the
agreement by raising airport fees and taxes and weakening Qatar's and Turkey's
control over tax collection, they continued.
When contacted by Reuters, a Qatari official declined
to comment at the time. Speaking under the condition of anonymity, a Turkish
official stated that negotiations with the Taliban had ended "some time
ago."
The UAE's initiatives are a part of an understated but
determined drive by Abu Dhabi to strengthen long-standing ties with the Taliban.
In the months since the hardline insurgents seized power in August, this effort
has included government aid and diplomatic efforts.
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