New Delhi: To spell out India’s future plans in Afghanistan after the Taliban takeover, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar will both be part of the crucial Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meeting, which will be held in Tajikistan capital Dushanbe over the next two days.
This will be the first time India will discuss its plans for Afghanistan with the Central Asian leaders after the Taliban announced a new interim government in Kabul on 7 September.
According to sources, the new Taliban dispensation has become a “huge cause of concern” for New Delhi as it has names of United Nations (UN)-blacklisted individuals and those who are on the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)’s most-wanted list, playing key roles in the cabinet.
India also believes that “Pakistan’s heavy influence” on the new Taliban government has raised concerns over cross-border terrorism vis-à-vis Kashmir.
While Modi will address the SCO Council of Heads of State virtually Friday, Jaishankar will attend the SCO Afghanistan contact group meeting along with other foreign ministers.
The SCO Council of Heads of State meeting will be chaired by the President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon. It will be attended in-person by Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan and other leaders of the Central Asian countries. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping are also expected to attend virtually.
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Bilateral meets for Jaishankar
Jaishankar will also hold bilateral meetings with some of his counterparts from the region. Foreign ministers of China, Pakistan, Iran, Russia and Tajikistan are all expected to be present for the meetings in Dushanbe.
According to sources, India will be discussing with its regional partners such as Russia and the Central Asian countries on how to distribute development aid to Afghanistan, with its economy in dire straits.
While India hasn’t had any official-level contacts with the Taliban leaders based in Kabul and now ruling Afghanistan, it continues to remain engaged with their commanders in Doha, Qatar.
Addressing the UN High-Level Meeting on the Humanitarian Situation in Afghanistan earlier this week, Jaishankar said India will continue to support Afghan people as it had done before the Taliban came to power.
“In the face of a grave emerging situation, India is willing to stand by the Afghan people, just as in the past. To ensure that this happened speedily and effectively, we believe that the international community must come together to create the best possible enabling environment. Among the challenges that the current situation poses is that of efficient logistics,” he said.
He also said that the Taliban leaders sitting in Kabul need to ensure that humanitarian assistance providers are given “unimpeded, unrestricted and direct access to Afghanistan”.
Terror concerns
Modi and Jaishankar are also expected to take up the tenets of the UNSCR 2593 (2021), especially with the Central Asian countries and others, in dealing with the new administration in Afghanistan.
SCO Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure executive director will also be attending the meeting.
Citing the UNSCR 2593, India has been repeatedly stressing that the Afghan territory should not be used for fomenting international terrorist networks, especially the al Qaeda, Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed.
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