India | Afghanistan
'Closely monitoring situation': India on Taliban delegation's meeting with Chinese FM
New Delhi/UNI: India on Thursday said it is closely monitoring the situation following reports of Chinese top officials' meeting with a Taliban delegation in Beijing, and reiterated that “unilateral imposition of will by any party cannot provide legitimacy” in war-torn Afghanistan and that the gains of the past two decades need to be preserved.
External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi, answering a host of questions on Afghanistan following the visit by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday, said that India has seen media reports of a Taliban delegation led by senior leader Mullah Ghani Barader meeting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Beijing.
“We have seen media reports on this; as you know we are closely monitoring developments in Afghanistan. The EAM spoke at length on our perspective of Afghanistan during his press conference with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken," Bagchi said.
“I would like to reiterate that India and the world wish to see an independent, sovereign, democratic and stable Afghanistan, which is at peace with itself and its neighbours. Unilateral imposition of will by any party will not be democratic, cannot lead to stability and cannot provide legitimacy. Gains over the last two decades should be preserved,” he said.
On Wednesday, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, speaking in a similar vein, had added that Afghanistan’s “independence and sovereignty will only be ensured if it is free from malign influences”, in an oblique reference to Pakistan and its harbouring of militants.
“Afghanistan must neither be home to terrorism, nor a source of refugees. Afghanistan must never be home to terrorism,” Jaishankar had emphasized.
Blinken in his remarks had said that the rapid advances of the Taliban and the atrocities perpetrated by them are “deeply troubling and do not speak for their intentions for the country”.
He said an Afghanistan that does not respect the rights of people, and commits atrocities will become a pariah state.
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