For Quick Alerts
ALLOW NOTIFICATIONS  
For Daily Alerts
Oneindia App Download

Afghan soil should not be used for anti-India activities, terrorism: India to Taliban

|
Google Oneindia News

New Delhi, Aug 31: Indian Ambassador to Qatar, Deepak Mittal, met head of Taliban's political office Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanekzai in Doha on Tuesday and discussed on safety, security and early return of Indian nationals stranded in Afghanistan.

Representational Image

The Ministry of External Affairs said Ambassador Mittal raised India''s concern at the meeting that Afghanistan''s soil should not be used for anti-Indian activities and terrorism in any manner.

It said the discussions focused on safety, security and early return of Indian nationals stranded in Afghanistan as well as the travel of Afghan nationals wishing to visit to India.

The MEA said the Taliban leader assured the Mittal that these issues would be positively addressed.

"Today, Ambassador of India to Qatar, Deepak Mittal, met Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanekzai, the Head of Taliban''s Political Office in Doha," the MEA said in a release.

It said the meeting took place at the Embassy of India, Doha, on the request of the Taliban side.

What are India’s immediate priorities in Afghanistan What are India’s immediate priorities in Afghanistan

"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 to India also came up," the MEA said.

"Ambassador Mittal raised India''s concern that Afghanistan''s soil should not be used for anti-Indian activities and terrorism in any manner," it added.

People familiar with India's ties in Afghanistan said it was the first publicly acknowledged contact between the two sides in over at least two decades.

External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi, replying to questions during his weekly briefing in the last few months on whether India has reached out to the Taliban, has been maintaining that New Delhi is in touch with all stakeholders.

It was learnt that India had opened a channel of communication with the Taliban but it was never acknowledged officially.

The meeting between Mittal and Stanekzai took place hours after the US completed the withdrawal of its troops from Afghanistan, ending its 20-year-long military campaign in the country.

The last American aircraft left the Kabul airport in the early hours of Tuesday.

On Saturday, Stanekzai, in a clear overture, described India as an important country in the region and said the Taliban wants to maintain Afghanistan's trade, economic and political relations with it.

"We attach great importance to our trade, economic and political relations with India and want to maintain that relation," he had said.

"We also need to keep the air trade open," the Taliban leader was quoted as saying by Pakistani media outlet Independent Urdu.

He was referring to the air corridor between India and Afghanistan that was established to boost trade between the two countries in view of Pakistan's denial to allow transit access.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on August 20 held talks with his Qatari counterpart Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani on the Afghan crisis during a stopover in Doha on his way back home from a four-day visit to the US.

Doha has been the venue for the intra-Afghan peace talks and the Gulf country has emerged as a crucial player in facilitating the Afghan peace process.

Political leaders of the Taliban have been residing in Qatar for years.

Meanwhile, a high-level group comprising Jaishankar, NSA Ajit Doval and a number of other senior officials is focusing on India's immediate priorities in Afghanistan following the drawdown of American forces from the country.

India has been a key stakeholder in Afghanistan and it has invested nearly USD 3 billion in carrying out nearly 500 projects across Afghanistan.

India has been in touch with all major regional players including those in the Gulf region on the developments in Afghanistan.

The UN Security Council, under India's presidency, on Monday adopted a resolution demanding that the territory of Afghanistan not be used to threaten any country or shelter terrorists.

There have been mounting concerns in India over the possibility of rise in activities of various terror groups including Lashkar-e-Toiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed from Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.

with PTI inputs

For Daily Alerts
Get Instant News Updates
Enable
x
Notification Settings X
Time Settings
Done
Clear Notification X
Do you want to clear all the notifications from your inbox?
Settings X
X