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An article in the Urdu-language jihadi magazine Shariat, published by the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (the Afghan Taliban organization), asserts that a photo of U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Afghan Taliban deputy leader Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar sharing a stage in Doha, Qatar, shows that the Taliban is an "equal partner with a superpower like America."
Mike Pompeo with Mullah Baradar in Doha, Qatar, November 21, 2020
Mullah Baradar is the Islamic Emirate's deputy emir for political affairs and head of its Political Office in Doha, where he and Pompeo met to discuss the Afghan situation. The article, written by Abdus Sattar Saeed and published in the November 2020 issue of Shariat, is titled "The Islamic Emirate's struggle – A Pathbreaker For Other Islamists."
"Some days ago, in the Qatari capital of Doha, the Islamic Emirate's representatives, along with their proud stand, appeared on the international stage as an equal partner with a superpower like America, and Mullah Baradar's photo with Mike Pompeo went viral. You will have seen on social media the reactions of different personalities and organizations in the Islamic world. It was evident that the Muslims of the West and the East view the Islamic Emirate with great respect and have great esteem for its resistance," the magazine wrote.
The Taliban, Al-Qaeda, and associated jihadi organizations have interpreted the U.S.-Taliban deal, signed in Doha on February 29, 2020, as a Taliban victory over the U.S. military in Afghanistan. Jihadi organizations also regularly interpreted the negotiations between the U.S. and the Islamic Emirate in Doha as American surrender in Afghanistan.
Mike Pompeo with a delegation led by Mullah Baradar in Doha, November 21, 2020
Cover page of November 2020 issue of Shariat (source: Alemarahurdu.net, Afghanistan, November 16, 2020).
