Afghanistan appeals for emergency UNSC session

Tribune News Service
New Delhi, August 12

India on Thursday attended a regional conference on Afghanistan in Doha where Kabul’s Chief for Reconciliation Abdullah Abdullah appealed for an emergency UNSC session.

With India present at the meeting of the extended “Troika Plus” on Afghanistan, Abdullah Abdullah’s appeal could bring New Delhi centre stage as it holds the presidency of the UNSC and was instrumental in a discussion on the Taliban’s spree of violence.

All those at Thursday’s meeting had agreed not to recognise any regime taking over by force and insisted on the acceleration of peace talks, added Abdullah Abdullah.

Local Afghan media reported that the Ghani government had offered a share in power in exchange for cessation of violence.

However, there was no confirmation from Kabul to reports picked up by a Qatar based TV channel.

The Taliban had, meanwhile, captured the tenth provincial capital of Ghazni. As was the case with the capture of Kunduz and Faizabad, the local governor and police chief were reported to have made a deal with the Taliban. However, they have been arrested, said the government’s spokesperson.

However, resistance was also developing with several insurgent warlords, side lined by the Ghani government, jumping into the fray. They include Abdul Rashid Dostum, Mohamed Atta Noor and the son of the late Ahmed Shah Masood.

India was invited for the extended talks at Doha during a personal visit on August 7 by Qatar’s Special Envoy Mutlaq bin Majed Al-Qahtani. MEA’s Joint Secretary (Pakistan-Afghanistan-Iran) JP Singh represented India at Doha. India was invited to the talks along with Turkey and Indonesia. Others present included Special Envoys of “Troika Plus”—the US, Russia, Pakistan and China—besides representatives of the Taliban, the Afghan government and host Qatar.

In New Delhi, the MEA said the government continued to closely monitor the situation with a special eye on the Afghan Hindu and Sikh minorities.

The embassy in Kabul continues to remain in touch with Afghan Hindu and Sikh community members and last year had facilitated the travel to India of 383 members of the two communities.

“We will ensure provision of all necessary assistance to them,” assured MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi.

Asked about contacts with the Taliban, Bagchi said, “The government is in touch with various stakeholders. I won’t say anything beyond this.”

On Pakistan’s role in fuelling the violence in Afghanistan, the MEA spokesperson said, it should be stopped if it is happening. India has been actively discussing with others the need to stop “malign influences” from jeopardising the ongoing talks.

“The world knows what kind of role Pakistan has played and what they have done,” he observed.

Russian Special Envoy Zamir Kabulov outlined the world community’s three primary goals in Afghanistan—achieve a ceasefire, resume inclusive intra-Afghan dialogue, and form an interim coalition government with elections to be held two years later.