Published 16:12 IST, September 4th 2021
Salman Khurshid urges Centre to divulge details of Afghan situation, says 'Will cooperate'
"The government has spoken to the Taliban, they should now tell openly what has happened in the talks," former Member of Parliament, Salman Khurshid said
Advertisement
In a rather rare event, the Indian National Congress on Saturday said that it is with the government on the Afghanistan situation. Speaking to the media, party leader, and former Member of Parliament, Salman Khurshid urged the Central government to divulge the details about the situation in Afghanistan, and the talks involving it between the new rulers of the war-torn country- the Taliban and India. He added that the party will cooperate and support the Centre on this, as it is a 'matter of national security.'
'We will co-operate and support Centre,' says Congress' Salman Khurshid
"The government has spoken to Taliban, they should now tell openly what has happened in the talks", Salman Khurshid said, and added," We will cooperate and support the centre on this (situation in Afghanistan)."
The statement of Khurshid comes days after India, on request, held a meeting with the Taliban. In the meeting that took place in Doha, the Indian Ambassador to Qatar, Deepak Mittal, met Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanekzai, the head of the Taliban’s Political Office, Doha, and discussed various issues pertaining to the situation in Afghanistan.
The Ministry of External Affairs said Ambassador Mittal raised India's concern at the meeting that Afghanistan's soil should not be used for anti-Indian activities and terrorism in any manner. He also in the meeting had highlighted the need for the safety and security of Indians and pushed for the early return of those nationals stranded in Afghanistan. Besides Indians, the travel of Afghan nationals, especially minorities, who wish to visit India, was also discussed.
Having heard the points, Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanekzai, the head of Taliban’s Political Office assured that the issues would be addressed 'positively.'
Centre chairs all-party briefing on Afghanistan
Meanwhile, the Central government has been holding meetings to discuss the situation in Afghanistan. Just last week, the Centre chaired an all-party meeting, which lasted for 3.5 hours and had in attendance 47 leaders from 31 parties in which various aspects of the situation in Afghanistan, and its effect on India was discussed. The primary concern of all the parties in the meeting, as informed by the Centre, was evacuation.
"We have approached the situation in a spirit of national unity", the External Affairs Minister said after the meeting, underlining that the views of the political parties that took part in the meeting were pretty much the same.
16:12 IST, September 4th 2021