HERAT: When Mohammad Hanif heard Q atar was opening jobs to Afghans, he joined thousands of others to put his name down for a shot to make a living in the gas-rich emirate.

The Taliban announced a deal with the Gulf state last week to recruit 3,100 workers from Afghanistan. Aspirants started applying at centres across the country on Tuesday.

By Wednesday, more than 8,500 people had put their names down from the capital Kabul and surrounding provinces. More than 15,500 peo-ple are expected to register nationwide.

The Taliban government says the jobs will help fight steep unemployment and poverty in the country of around 48 million people, facing what the United Nations says is one of the world`s worst humanitarian crises.

`Our country has many problems, most people are poor and work odd jobs,` said Hanif, who travelled to western Herat from neighbouring Badghis to register.

`I have skills in car mechan-ics and cooking, and I have certificates to prove it,` said the 35-year-old, adding he was grateful to Qatar for employing Afghans.

Competition is steep, however, with centres swarmed by hopeful applicants ready to present the required passports, identification cards and professional certificates to nab roles ranging from bus driver to cleaner, cook, mechanic and electrician.

More than 1,000 people have applied in southern Kandahar for around 375 positions allo-cated to the region, and in Herat, around 2,000 people lined up on Wednesday to try for one of a few hundred jobs.

Doha instead of Tehran Qatar, where the Taliban opened an office during the two-decade war with US-led forces, is one of the handful of countries to have strong diplomatic ties with Afghanistan`s rulers after they swept to power in 2021. Only Russia has so far officially recognised the Taliban government.Discussions are also underway with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Turkiye and Russia to set up similar deals, Labour Minister Abdul Manan Omari said in a statement on Tuesday.

The process `will undoubtedly have a positive impact on the country`s economic situation and reduce unemployment`, said Abdul Ghani Baradar, the deputy prime minister.

Nearly half of Afghanistan`s population lives in poverty,and the unemployment rate (over 13 per cent) affects nearly a quarter of young people aged 15 to 29.

Those who do have work often support large, extended families on stretched salaries.

High unemployment has been driven by infrastructure hamstrung by 40 years of conflict, drought impacting the crucial agriculture sector and the recent mass removals of Afghans from neighbouring countries, said Noorullah Fadwi, head of an associationof job search companies.

`There is nothing` The Taliban authorities have not yet detailed how the Afghan recruits will be housed or their potential working conditions, while pledging to safeguard their rights. Qatar, where foreigners make up nearly 90pc of the three million-strong population, has faced heavy criticism over the treatment of migrant labourers, particularly during construction leading up to hosting the 2022 football World Cup.

-AFP