New Delhi: Even as the world waits and sees what lies ahead for Afghanistan, India says its immediate focus is to ensure that Afghan soil is not used for terrorist activities directed against it .
Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said that India used the meeting in Doha to express its concerns about the possible use of Afghan territory for anti-India activities and to bring back the remaining Indians from Afghanistan. did.
“We got a positive response,” he said, referring to the meeting between Indian Ambassador to Qatar Deepak Mittal and Taliban leader Sher Mohammad Abbas Stankzai in Doha two days ago.
Asked whether India would recognize the Taliban regime in the backdrop of the meeting between the two sides, Bagchi said: “It was just a meeting. I think these are very early days.”
To a question whether India would have more meetings with the Taliban, the External Affairs Ministry spokesperson said he did not want to speculate.
“I don’t want to speculate about the future. I don’t have any updates to share on that,” he added. On bringing back the remaining Indians from Afghanistan, Bagchi said India would be able to reconsider the matter once the Kabul airport resumes operations.
“Currently the Kabul airport is not operational. We will resume our evacuation operations from Kabul as soon as the airport service resumes,” Bagchi said.
Taliban ready to announce new government
A senior member of the group has said the Taliban is all set to announce the formation of a new government in Kabul on the lines of the Iranian leadership, with the group’s top religious leader Mullah Hebtollah Akhundzada as Afghanistan’s highest official.
According to reports, the discussions regarding the new government in Afghanistan have almost been decided and necessary discussions have also taken place regarding the cabinet. The Taliban is all set to announce the formation of a new government in Kabul in the next three days.
A Taliban leader told news agency PTI that the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul would start functioning in the next 48 hours and people with valid travel documents would be allowed to leave the country. .
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