KABUL — Top Taliban political leaders have returned to Afghanistan from Qatar. A Taliban spokesperson confirmed on Tuesday that Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar — a founder of the militant group who took part in the withdrawal negotiations with the US — flew into Kandahar on Tuesday afternoon from Qatar.

Before returning to Afghanistan, Baradar and a Taliban delegation met with the Qatari Foreign Minister Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani.

On Twitter, Al-Thani said they "discussed the necessity of reaching a comprehensive political settlement that achieves a peaceful transfer of power, preserves the gains made by the Afghan people, and heightens the desired stability in Afghanistan."

One of the major difficulties for any new government will be boosting the economy — one of the poorest in the world — as Western countries ponder cutting crucial development assistance to the country.

Last year, Afghanistan's gross domestic product (GDP) amounted to $19.81 billion (€16.9 billion), 42.9% of which came from international aid, according to World Bank data.

The Taliban's revenue over the past two decades has derived from the opium trade, other criminal activities including extortion and taxes it imposed over territories under their control.

One of the group's spokesperson said on Tuesday however that "Afghanistan will no longer be an opium-growing country" with production to return "to zero again", as it was when they last ruled the country.

He added that they would welcome foreign aid: "We have had exchanges with many countries. We want them to help us."

Josep Borrell, the European Union's top diplomat, told reporters on Tuesday evening that the bloc is suspending the €1.2 billion development assistance planned for Afghanistan over the 2021-2024 period. This followed a similar decision from Germany.

The EU's top diplomat announced that the bloc is to suspend development payments to Afghanistan "until we clarify the situation" with Taliban leaders. Borrell said the EU "will engage in a dialogue (with the Taliban) as soon as necessary to prevent a humanitarian and a potential migratory disaster." The EU said its humanitarian assistance will continue and may be increased.

The UK has also suggested it could reduce its development assistance to Afghanistan. Britain has allocated £93.8 million (€110 million) in aid to Afghanistan for the 2021/2022 period.

Humanitarian assistance is to be increased, Prime Minister Boris Johnson confirmed during a phone call with US President Joe Biden on Tuesday. The country also plans to take in 20,000 Afghan refugees over the coming years.

The White House said in its own readout of the call that the two leaders "agreed on the need for close coordination with allies about the future of aid and support to Afghanistan now that the Taliban is in charge" and that they "agreed to hold a virtual G7 leaders' meeting next week to discuss a common strategy and approach."

Johnson, meanwhile, also held calls with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Merkel and Macron have already been in contact over the developments in Afghanistan, notably to coordinate efforts to push for a common EU migration policy. The German leader also discussed the issue with her Italian counterpart, Matteo Draghi.

Italy, alongside Greece, Spain and the Western Balkans, is one of the major routes into the EU for migrants.

Draghi said the G20, of which Italy currently holds the presidency, is "the natural" forum to launch a process of collaboration among countries including China, Russia, Saudi Arabia and Turkey, in addition to Europe.

"The future for Italy is made up by the defense of fundamental rights, the defense of the rights of women and the protection of all those who exposed themselves in these years to defend these rights in Afghanistan. This must be undertaken in all possible contexts," he said.

A G20 ministerial meeting is planned later this month dedicated to women.

With the Taliban controlling Kabul, residents in the Afghan capital must now pass through a number of checkpoints to get around, including in the formally heavily secured green zone.

A local commander manning a checkpoint said that they were there to prevent looting and to secure embassies and property.

The Taliban has promised a new era of peace and security, saying they will forgive those who fought against them and grant women full rights under Islamic law, without elaborating.

But many Afghans are deeply skeptical of the group, especially those who remember its previous rule, when it imposed a harsh interpretation of Islamic law.

At that time, women were largely confined to their homes, television and music were banned, and suspected criminals were flogged, maimed or executed in public.

In another development, Taliban has blown up the statue of a Shiite militia leader. The statue depicted a militia leader killed by the Taliban in 1996, when the group had seized power from rival warlords.

Abdul Ali Mazari was a champion of Afghanistan’s ethnic Hazara minority, Shiites who were persecuted under the Taliban’s earlier rule.

The statue stood in the central Bamyan province, where the Taliban infamously blew up two massive 1,500-year-old statues of Buddha carved into a mountain in 2001. The Taliban claimed the Buddhas violated Islam’s prohibition on idolatry.

The German Defense Ministry said that it has successfully evacuated a further 180 people on Wednesday but provided no details about their nationalities.

They were first airlifted to neighboring Uzbekistan. This brings the total number of German evacuees to more than 400. Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer reiterated in the early afternoon that the evacuations will carry on "for as long as possible."

Meanwhile, a second French evacuation flight left Kabul overnight and landed in Abu Dhabi in the early morning, the French Foreign Ministry has just announced. Onboard were 25 French nationals and "184 Afghans from civil society in need of protection," it added. The plane also carried 4 Dutch nationals, an Irish citizen and two Kenyans. — Euronews