The Maldives foreign ministry said the much publicised meeting between the Maldives High Commissioner Mohamed Thoha and Taliban representative Sardar Ahmad Shakeeb on Friday was “not sanctioned” by the government.

“Consequently, appropriate action has been taken by the government of Maldives,” the ministry statement said without giving details.

Thoha’s name has been taken down from the website of the Maldives mission in Islamabad, and an official source told AFP that he had been recalled.

Since the Taliban ousted the Western-backed administration in 2021 and imposed an austere interpretation of Islamic law, no foreign country has yet officially recognised their government.

But three years into their rule, Taliban authorities have been making diplomatic inroads.

Pakistan, China, Russia, Iran and Central Asian republics have established de facto diplomatic relations with Kabul, while Western embassies in the capital have been closed for over three years.

The Maldives, the smallest Islamic republic in South Asia, does not recognise the Taliban government.