Haibatullah Akhunzada met Qatar's Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani on May 12 in Afghanistan's southern city of Kandahar, the spiritual birthplace of the Taliban, Al Jazeera said.

Sheikh Mohammed also is the foreign minister of Qatar, an energy-rich nation on the Arabian Peninsula.

The state-owned network did not specifically discuss what the two officials spoke about, though it described the meeting as aimed at ways to end the Taliban's international isolation.

Qatari government officials declined to discuss the meeting, which Reuters first reported.

A source told “Reuters” that the meeting aimed at resolving Afghanistan's rulers’ tension with the international community.

The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said other issues Sheikh Mohammed raised with Haibatullah included the need to end Taliban bans on girls' education and women's employment, and the efforts to remedy Afghanistan's humanitarian crisis.

"It was a very positive meeting," said the source. Haibatullah was "very interested" in continuing a dialogue with the international community.

Also, Sheikh Mohammed, the source said, raised with Haibatullah the "continued efforts on the ground" by the Taliban on counterterrorism, an apparent reference to Kabul's drive to crush an Islamic State affiliate.

The Taliban did not respond to requests for comment regarding the meeting. The U.S. State Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

It's unclear, however, what effect such a meeting will have. The Taliban seized Afghanistan in August 2021 as U.S. and NATO troops were in the final weeks of their pullout from the country after 20 years of war.

Taliban fighters also exchanged gunfire with Iranian border guards on Saturday.

Qatar, which hosts a major U.S. military base in the region, served as a crucial point for those fleeing the Taliban in the chaotic days of the American withdrawal from Afghanistan. Qatar also hosts a diplomatic post for the Taliban and hosted talks between the group and then-President Donald Trump's administration.