Indian Ambassador to Qatar Deepak Mittal held a meeting with Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanekzai, the head of the Taliban’s political office in Doha, at the Indian embassy on Tuesday, the first since the group seized control of Afghanistan on August 15. The discussions focused on the safe return of the remaining Indians in Afghanistan and preventing the country from becoming a terrorist base.
According to the Indian Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), the discussions were held on the “request of the Taliban side.”
During the meeting, both sides stressed the importance of ensuring the safety of Indians left behind in Afghanistan. “Discussions focused on safety, security and early return of Indian nationals stranded in Afghanistan,” the MEA stated, adding that the travel of Afghan nationals, “especially minorities,” to India came up during the talks.
Around 20 Indians and 140 members of the Afghan Sikh and Hindu communities are stranded in the country. Reports last week mentioned that the Taliban had stopped Afghan Hindus and Sikhs from leaving Kabul. So far, India has evacuated over 800 people, including 112 Afghan nationals, far lower than the United States, which has evacuated more than 100,000 people from Afghanistan. The Hindu suggested that this is reflective of India’s security concerns in evacuating Afghans. Last week, India cancelled visas issued to Afghans and asked them to travel on electronic visas, citing the “prevailing security situation in Afghanistan.”
Moreover, the MEA stated that Mittal “raised India’s concern that Afghanistan’s soil should not be used for anti-Indian activities and terrorism in any manner.” India fears that the Taliban regime could embolden militant groups in Kashmir to carry out attacks against Indian security forces.
India also raised concerns about the Haqqani group, a part of the Taliban, and its leader Sirajuddin Haqqani. The group was responsible for the 2008 bombings on the Indian embassy in Kabul, which killed more than 75 people, including Indian diplomats.
For his part, Stanekzai assured Mittal that India’s concerns would be “positively addressed” by the group. The meeting in Doha follows Stanekzai’s comments on Saturday, when he called for greater ties with India. “India is very important for this subcontinent. We want to continue our cultural, economic, and trade ties with India like in the past,” he said. “We give due importance to our political, economic, and trade ties with India, and we want these ties to continue. We are looking forward to working with India in this regard,” he noted.
The talks also come after the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), under the chairmanship of India, adopted Resolution 2593 on Monday, which calls on the Taliban to uphold human rights and ensure that Afghanistan is not used as a base for terrorist attacks. Sources told The Times of India that the resolution addresses India’s key concerns regarding Afghanistan, adding that India played an active role in ensuring its passage. However, Russia and China abstained from the vote, stating that the Islamic State and the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM) were not mentioned in the resolution.
India has spent more than $3 billion in development works in Afghanistan and built close ties with the US-backed government in Kabul. However, with the Taliban seizing power in Afghanistan last month, India adopted a “wait and watch” approach regarding the group’s actions, especially over human rights, before establishing formal ties.