Following the collapse of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan on 17 August 2021, leader of the Taliban-affiliated Hezb-e-Islami party Gulbuddin Hekmatyar met with both Hamid Karzai, former President of Afghanistan, and Abdullah Abdullah, Chairman of the High Council for National Reconciliation and former Chief Executive, in Doha seeking to form a government.[4][5] President Ashraf Ghani, having fled the country to either Tajikistan or Uzbekistan, emerged in the UAE and said that he supported such negotiations and was in talks to return to Afghanistan.[6][7] Abdul Ghani Baradar, head of the office, and many of the other office staff returned to Afghanistan to discuss formation of a new government. Suhail Shaheen, one of the spokesmen, remained in Qatar with a few others.[citation needed]