India attends talks on Af in Doha, keeps close eye on Sikh, Hindus
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Russia outlines 3 goals
Achieve ceasefire with the Taliban
Resume inclusive intra-Afghan dialogue
Form interim coalition govt with polls in 2 years
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Taliban take 10th provincial capital
The Taliban captured Ghazni on Thursday, the 10th provincial capital the insurgents have taken across Afghanistan. With this, a crucial highway linking Kabul to the southern provinces has been snapped.
Sandeep Dixit
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, August 12
India on Thursday attended a regional conference on Afghanistan in Doha even as the government continued to closely monitor the situation with a special eye on the Afghan Hindu and Sikh minorities, said MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi.
Three large Asian countries–India along with Turkey and Indonesia—were asked to join the ‘Troika Plus’ talks in Doha on Thursday. The ‘Troika Plus’ comprising the Special Envoys on Afghanistan from the US, Russia, China and Pakistan had met a day earlier with representatives from the Taliban and the Afghan government.
Russian Special Envoy Zamir Kabulov outlined three primary goals of the Afghan settlement–achieve a ceasefire, resume inclusive intra-Afghan dialogue and form an interim coalition government with elections to be held two years later.
A Taliban delegation in Doha said its priority is to solve problems through negotiations but “other parties” should not create obstacles and referred to recent mass killings and destruction of public places by the Kabul administration.
India was invited during a personal visit by Qatar’s Special Envoy Mutlaq bin Majed Al-Qahtani on August 7, said Bagchi. Joint Secretary (Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran) in the MEA JP Singh represented India at the talks.
On Tuesday, representatives of the UK, China, the EU, the US, Uzbekistan and Pakistan met in Doha.
In Afghanistan, the Indian mission in Kabul continues to remain in touch with its Hindu and Sikh community members. Last year, the embassy had facilitated the travel to India of 383 members of the community. “We will ensure provision of all necessary assistance to them,” assured the MEA spokesperson.
Asked about contacts with the Taliban, Bagchi said, “The government is in touch with various stakeholders. I won’t say anything beyond this.”
About India’s assessment of the situation in Afghanistan, he said, “The situation on the ground is evolving… we are seeing different reports… the ground situation is difficult to understand…the security situation is of concern.”
The MEA spokesperson said the Taliban seizure of an India-gifted military helicopter in Kunduz “was not something for us to comment on. It wasn’t an IAF copter. This is an internal matter for Afghanistan and I would not like to comment on that aspect.”
Asked about the safety of India-built projects in Afghanistan, Bagchi again pointed out that the projects belonged to the government of Afghanistan for the welfare of its people. “I hope they are not damaged,” he observed.
On Pakistan’s role in fuelling the violence in Afghanistan, he said it should be stopped “if that is happening”. India had been actively discussing with others the need to stop malign influences from jeopardising the ongoing talks, jhe said.
India’s profile has risen after it leveraged its UN Security Council (UNSC) chairmanship by arranging for a discussion on Afghanistan.
