Ahead of SCO talks amid Taliban advance, Jaishankar meets Afghan counterpart

In the wake of the deteriorating safety state of affairs in Afghanistan and India having evacuated round 50 diplomats and safety personnel from its consulate in Kandahar, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday met his Afghan counterpart Mohammad Haneef Atmar in Dushanbe to debate the disaster within the war-torn nation.
Earlier within the day, Jaishankar arrived within the Tajik capital on a two-day go to to attend the conferences of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Council of Foreign Ministers and the SCO Contact Group on Afghanistan.
“Began my Dushanbe visit by meeting with Afghan FM @MHaneefAtmar. Appreciate his update on recent developments. Looking forward to the meeting of the SCO Contact Group on Afghanistan tomorrow,” Jaishankar tweeted.

Began my Dushanbe go to by assembly with Afghan FM @MHaneefAtmar. Appreciate his replace on latest developments. Looking ahead to the assembly of the SCO Contact Group on Afghanistan tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/O34PDkOFoh
— Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) July 13, 2021
The SCO, which is seen as a counterweight to NATO, was based at a summit in Shanghai in 2001 by the presidents of Russia, China, Kyrgyz Republic, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. It is an eight-member financial and safety bloc and has emerged as one of many largest transregional worldwide organisations. India and Pakistan turned its everlasting members in 2017.
The SCO contact group assembly on Afghanistan is about to occur at a time when Taliban militants are quickly seizing management within the northern a part of the nation and there are stories of 1000’s of Afghans fleeing to guard themselves from the insurgents. The militants have reportedly seized dozens of districts over the course of latest weeks and now management a few third of the nation, forward of the withdrawal of US and Western troops from Afghanistan by September 11.

As a part of the take care of the Taliban, the US and its NATO allies have agreed to withdraw all troops in return for a dedication by the militants that they’d forestall extremist teams from working in areas they management.

Jaishankar had earlier expressed concern over the spiralling violence and stated the “legitimacy aspect” of who ought to rule the war-torn nation shouldn’t be ignored. Speaking at a joint press convention along with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov in Moscow, he had stated, “The point right now we stress is that we must see a reduction in violence. Violence cannot be the solution for the situation in Afghanistan. At the end of the day, who governs Afghanistan has a legitimacy aspect of it. I think that is something which cannot and should not be ignored.”
India has stated it has a growth partnership of USD 3 billion, together with greater than 550 neighborhood growth initiatives overlaying all 34 provinces, which is geared toward making Afghanistan a self-sustaining nation.
India can also be a serious stakeholder within the peace and stability of Afghanistan and has been calling for a nationwide peace and reconciliation course of which is “Afghan-led, Afghan-owned and Afghan-controlled”.
Though the Indian embassy in Kabul continues to be functioning with Indian diplomats and Afghan staffers, there are not any Indian diplomats or different staffers on the Indian consulates in Kandahar, Herat and Jalalabad now.
New Delhi is watching the state of affairs in Mazar-e-Sharif within the north of the nation, the place it has a consulate. If the state of affairs deteriorates, Mazar-e-Sharif could possibly be the following place from the place Indian officers and staffers can be evacuated.

Though 50 Indian diplomats and staffers had been evacuated from Kandahar by a particular plane of the Indian Air Force, MEA official spokesperson Arindam Bagchi had stated on Sunday that the evacuation was a “temporary measure”, and that the Kandahar consulate had not been shut down.
MEA in a press release had stated, “India is closely monitoring the evolving security situation in Afghanistan. The safety and security of our personnel is paramount.”

Last month, Taliban had stated that they believed in “peaceful coexistence” with their neighbourhood and area.
“Pakistan is our neighbour, we have shared values and history. India is also our regional country. None can change one’s neighbours or region. We must accept this reality and have peaceful coexistence. That is in the interest of all,” Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen had stated in response to questions on how the Taliban considered India’s position in Afghanistan after the US withdrawal, and what their views had been on the Kashmir difficulty.
(With inputs from PTI)