KABUL : India has not spelt out its position on the Taliban since the group assumed power in Kabul on August 15, following the collapse of the Ashraf Ghani government. Over the past few days, Stanekzai and senior Taliban leader Anas Haqqani have been engaged in an outreach towards India.
India’s main concern in Afghanistan is the use of Afghan soil for terrorism or anti-India activities and it is too early to talk of issues such as any possible recognition of the Taliban regime, the external affairs ministry said on Thursday.
New Delhi’s position was outlined by external affairs ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi two days after the first officially acknowledged meeting between the Indian side and the Taliban in Doha. India is also focused on the evacuation of its nationals who are still in Afghanistan, he said.
Tuesday’s meeting between India’s envoy to Qatar, Deepak Mittal, and Sher Mohammed Abbas Stanekzai, head of the Taliban’s political office in Doha, has given rise to questions on whether New Delhi has softened its position on the Taliban and could be considering the recognition of any new set-up created by the group in Kabul.
At a regular news briefing, Bagchi ducked all questions on whether India still perceives the Taliban as a terror group and on recognising any government formed by the group, and said: “Our main concern, one of the primary, immediate concerns is that Afghan soil should not be used for anti-Indian activities or terrorism against India. That is one of our main issues.”
India’s focus is not on whether the Taliban is a terror organisation, and “the focus, let me reiterate, is that Afghan soil should not be used for terrorist activities of any kind or [for] anti-India activities and we will try to focus on that element”, Bagchi said.
The Indian side has seen reports about formation of a government by the Taliban, but has no details regarding the nature of this dispensation, Bagchi said. He said there was “no update” on any invitation being extended to India to participate in the inauguration of such a government.
