As the Taliban prepared to officially unveil their government in Afghanistan, India Thursday reiterated that the Central Asian country’s land should not be used to export any kind of terror activity.
Briefing the press, the Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said the Indian government was not aware of details on the government formation in Afghanistan.
“We are not aware of any detail or nature of what kind of government could be formed in Afghanistan,” Bagchi said.
“I have no update to share on that and do not want to speculate,” he added, in response to a question on India establishing first formal contact with the Taliban post the insurgent group’s takeover of Afghanistan.
Meetings with Taliban
When asked what was India’s roadmap on further meetings with the Taliban, the spokesperson stated: “It’s not a matter of yes and no. Our aim is that Afghanistan’s land shouldn’t be used for terror activity of any kind.”
India established its formal contact with the Taliban Tuesday when the country’s ambassador to Qatar, Deepak Mittal, met Sher Mohammed Abbas Stanekzai, the head of the Taliban’s political office in Doha. The meeting took place at the Indian embassy in Doha, following a request by the Taliban side.
“Discussions focused on safety, security and early return of Indian nationals stranded in Afghanistan. The travel of Afghan nationals, especially minorities, who wish to visit India also came up,” an MEA statement issued post the meeting said.
Also “raised India’s concern that Afghanistan’s soil should not be used for anti-Indian activities and terrorism in any manner,” it added.
Operation Devi Shakti
Meanwhile, the MEA official today also talked about the evacuation of Indians still stuck in Afghanistan. Bagchi said the operation, named Op Devi Shakti, will resume once the airport in Afghanistan’s capital starts functioning again.
“Currently Kabul airport is not operational. We will resume our operation to evacuate people from Kabul as soon the airport service will resume,” the spokesperson said, adding that “the majority of Indians have left Afghanistan”.
The Taliban had taken complete control of the Central Asian country on August 15 when Kabul fell and President Ashraf Ghani fled the country. The concerning development came ahead of the August 31 deadline set by the United States to complete its troop withdrawal.
