MOSCOW: Regional Countries Want Outcome In Afghanistan To Be Good: S Jaishankar

MOSCOW: India said the countries near and
little bit beyond Afghanistan have a very strong interest in ensuring that the
outcome in Afghanistan is both good for the war-torn nation as well as the
region.

The
Taliban militants have seized dozens of districts in recent weeks and are now
thought to control about a third of the country, ahead of the withdrawal of US
and Western troops from Afghanistan by September 11.

Under a
deal with the Taliban, the US and its NATO allies agreed to withdraw all troops
in return for a commitment by the militants that they would prevent extremist
groups from operating in areas they control.

“If
one looks at the issue of terrorism, both India and Russia are against
fundamentalist thinking, violence, radicalisation and violent extremism. We are
against terrorism,” External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on
Thursday.

Mr
Jaishankar, who is in Russia on a three-day visit, made the comments in
response to a question on Afghanistan at the Primakov Institute of World
Economy & International Relations in Moscow.

“We
are pluralistic societies. We have been targeted… I don’t think we have
changed our position on terrorism, on fundamentalism, on violence and on
defending pluralistic societies,” he said replying to the question.

“On
Afghanistan, we have both supported a united Afghanistan, a sovereign
Afghanistan, an Afghanistan where minorities have a fair share of
representation. We were for an Afghanistan which was at peace with itself and
at peace with its neighbours,” he added.

He said
India’s approach on Afghanistan has not changed.

Recalling
his stopover in Tehran on his way to Russia on Wednesday, Mr Jaishankar said he
discussed Afghanistan in “some detail” with his Iranian counterpart
Javad Zarif.

“I
do think that the countries of the region, both the near region and the little
bit beyond the region, have a very strong interest in ensuring that we get an
outcome in Afghanistan which is both good for Afghanistan and good for the
region,” he said.

“Whether
we have the wisdom to do it, whether we have the clarity of thinking to do it,
that”s very much up to our generation,” he added.

“So,
we are quite clear what the challenges are,” he added.

While in
Moscow, Mr Jaishankar is expected to exchange views on the situation in
Afghanistan with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov.

India, a
major stakeholder in the peace and stability of Afghanistan, has been
supporting a national peace and reconciliation process which is Afghan-led,
Afghan-owned and Afghan-controlled.

Interestingly,
Mr Jaishankar’s visit to Tehran came on a day when Iran hosted a high-level
intra-Afghan dialogue between Taliban and Afghan government representatives, in
the midst of major developments in Afghanistan.

The
intra-Afghan dialogue was attended by the Taliban political committee led by
chief negotiator Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai, the Afghan government
officials, including former Vice President Younus Qanooni, and others from the
High Council for National Reconciliation.

The US
and the Taliban signed a landmark deal in Doha on February 29, 2020 after
multiple rounds of negotiations to bring lasting peace in war-torn Afghanistan
and allow US troops to return home from America’s longest war.

India has
been keenly following the evolving political situation after the US signed the
peace deal with the Taliban. The deal provided for the withdrawal of American
troops from Afghanistan, effectively drawing curtains on Washington’s 18-year
war with Taliban in the country.