The Taliban may have assured New Delhi of not allowing Afghanistan’s soil for terrorism or any anti-India activity during the Doha meet, but the Modi government continues to be tough on the issue of the close proximity between the Islamist militia and Islamabad’s state actors including ISI and Pakistan’s Army. India is set to talk about this issue at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit to be held in Tashkent on 16-17 September. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be addressing the SCO Summit virtually.
Sources told The Daily Guardian that in what will be a clear and strong signal to Pakistan and the Taliban, PM Modi during his address at the summit is set to remind all the participants and other global community of how India has a zero-tolerance policy on terrorism. Sources say that the issue to be raised at the upcoming SCO Summit was discussed in the meeting which was chaired by PM Modi and attended by Home Minister Amit Shah, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and NSA Doval late Wednesday evening.
The meeting discussed the Afghan situation amid the worries about Pakistan plotting to use Kabul’s soil for activities against India. China’s role in Afghanistan under the changed scenario was also discussed in the same context, say sources. It was decided that PM Modi will send out a strong message to Pakistan and Taliban during the SCO Summit in the backdrop of ‘Islamabad trying to exploit the situation against India’.
Sources told TDG that PM Modi is keen that the Taliban should be warned time and again against any use of Afghan land for act of terrorism. That India appropriately used the Doha meeting for giving this message to the Taliban leader was appreciated in the meeting.
Heads of State of SCO are scheduled for summit level talks in Tajikistan’s capital Dushanbe from September 16-17, sources said. The Central Asian nation Tajikistan is the chair of the grouping. There are 8 member states including India, Russia, China and Pakistan. And there are 4 Central Asian countries—Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Kazakhstan.
A diplomat said, “The Summit will be a much-needed opportunity for the Prime Minister to give a strong message to Pakistan on its dubious and conspiratorial role in Afghanistan where the Taliban regime is set to take shape now.” EAM Jaishankar has already asked his team from MEA to keep a close watch on the conducts of the Taliban and report to the high-level group set up by the PM Modi
What India is also watchful of is the reported increasing responsibilities being given to the Haqqani Network which has been targeting India’s mission with the support of Pakistan’s intelligence agency ISI in the past. Sources say, “If needed, India’s concern will be conveyed to the Taliban through diplomatic channels in future as well.” In fact, EAM Jaishankar has discussed it with his counterparts in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, UAE and Iran.
Meanwhile, India on Thursday steered clear of commenting on the question of whether or not the Taliban is a terror organisation. MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said: “Our aim is to ensure Afghanistan’s land is not used for terror activity of any kind.” Over the India-Taliban meeting that took place in Doha, Bagchi said that “there is no need to speculate on this”.
“It’s not a matter of yes and no (on the roadmap of further meetings with the Taliban),” added the MEA spokesperson. The MEA spokesperson said that it’s too early to decide whether to give any recognition to any Taliban government. “At present, the Kabul airport is not operational and there’s no update on when we will be able to do more flights. The special Afghan cell, however, continues to operate,” added the MEA spokesperson.
He added that evacuation is currently paused since the Kabul airport is closed. “It is difficult to share the exact number of Indians still left in Afghanistan. The vast majority of Indians who were willing to return, have already come back,” added the MEA spokesperson.