Trilateral talks between Qatar, Turkey and the acting Afghan government took place late last year.

There are currently no agreements being discussed between Qatar and the interim Afghan administration on cooperation in security and defensive affairs, a Qatari official told Doha News in a statement on Friday.

“The State of Qatar’s focus remains on fulfilling the urgent humanitarian and economic needs of the people of Afghanistan. Qatar will continue to work with our global partners for the safety and security of the Afghan people, while helping improve their economic situation,” said the official.

The statement came after false reports of an alleged security agreement reached between the two parties on cooperation in security and defensive affair. A July report by TOLOnews has in recent days resurfaced, triggering confusion over the issue.

The report had pointed to the agreement seeing Qatar providing uniforms to security forces, payment of salaries for defence ministry forces and offering other military equipment to the interim government.

However, the Qatari official confirmed no such agreement was made.

Qatar has been a key player in providing diplomatic assistance between the Taliban and the global community, receiving praise from leaders around the world for its efforts in airlifting civilians, journalists and diplomas out of Kabul after the Taliban takeover last year.

While the security agreement has not been formalised, Qatar was involved in talks, along with Turkey for plans to secure the facilities in the war-torn country.

Qatari and Turkish technical teams were dispatched to Kabul after US and NATO troops made a chaotic exit from Afghanistan on 31 August. 

At the time of the Taliban takeover, Qatar managed to carry out the largest airlift of people in history, facilitating the safe exit of at least 80,000 Afghans and foreigners from the country. 

The Qatari and Turkish teams were tasked to repair parts of the airport to allow the resumption of civilian flights following the troop withdrawal.

The airport was up and running again by 9 September, when the first passenger flight  departed Kabul. That Qatar Airways flight transferred 113 Afghans and foreigners out of the country.

Qatari and Turkish companies continued to work on technical parts of the airport without a finalised contract, though the two allies signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in December last year.

In May, the Taliban signed a contract with the UAE over the provision of services at airports in Kabul, Kandahar and Herat. The deal applied to the logistical part of the airports and not security.

At the time, the acting Afghan first Deputy Prime Minister Abdul Ghani Baradar told Al Jazeera that the contract stipulates the provision of “services on the ground only” and the issue of “organising and managing Kabul International Airport” was not addressed.

The US, which led a 20-year invasion of the country, was quick to freeze up to $9.1 billion worth of Afghan assets, contributing to the worsening economic situation.

In February, US President Joe Biden ordered the release of $7 billion of Afghanistan’s funds. The Biden administration decided to give Afghans living under dire humanitarian conditions $3.5 billion of the total amount.

Afghanistan’s humanitarian situation has also worsened over the years due to war, drought and corruption. According to the UN, more than 24.4 million people are in need of humanitarian aid to survive.

A report from 2021 estimated that 97% of Afghans could be living in poverty by the middle of this year.