UNITED NATIONS: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday said that India has a historical relationship with the Afghan people and that will continue to guide its thoughts and outlook as he spoke on the volatile situation in the war-torn country at the UN Security Council.
“We have a historical relationship with the Afghan people and I think that relationship will continue to guide our thoughts and outlook,” he said.
On another question, he said: “we’re working with international partners in this regard, especially the US, as it controls the airport”.
He emphasised that repatriation of Indian nationals from Afghanistan remained its top priority.
He said this while addressing reporters at the UN Security Council stake-out after chairing the Security Council briefing on the ‘Threats to international peace and security caused by terrorist acts’, held under India’s current Presidency of the Council.
In response to a question, he said on the issue of “where we go on from now” with the Taliban in control in Afghanistan, he said: “the immediate issue that we are looking at is really the repatriation of our nationals.”
“In India’s case, India’s nationals, other countries have their concerns”.
In response to a question by PTI on the situation in Afghanistan and that Pakistan-based terror groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed can take advantage of the situation to increase cross-border terrorism, he said India has unfortunately had a long experience with cross-border terrorism.
“I think I made it very clear that we have had unfortunately a long experience with cross border terrorism. We are not the only country which has had it, there are other countries. I mentioned Afghanistan,” Jaishankar said.
“I specifically, in fact, mentioned some of the groups that you did – Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashkar-e-Taiba. I think this is a continuing issue and we made the point very strongly that it’s important therefore that there are no double standards, that there are no distinctions in the fight against terrorism,” he added.
India on Tuesday rushed back home its ambassador Rudrendra Tandon and staff from the embassy in Kabul in a military transport aircraft following escalating tension, fear and uncertainty gripping the Afghan capital after the Taliban insurgents seized the Afghan capital on Sunday.
The C-17 Globemaster aircraft of the Indian Air Force carrying around 150 people, including diplomats, officials, security personnel and some stranded Indians, landed at the Hindon airbase near the national capital at around 5 PM after a brief halt at Jamnagar in Gujarat, in the wake of escalating tension, fear and uncertainty gripping the Afghan capital after its take over by the Taliban two days back.
It was the second evacuation flight as another C-17 aircraft brought back around 40 people from the Hamid Karzai International (HKI) Airport in Kabul on Monday as part of India’s emergency evacuation mission that was carried out following coordination with relevant authorities including US officials handling security at the airport in the Afghan capital.
He also said that events unfolding in Afghanistan have naturally enhanced global concerns about their implications for both regional and international security as the Taliban seized power in the war-torn country, forcing President Ashraf Ghani to flee the country.
Jaishankar, chairing a high-level United Nations Security Council briefing on “Threats to international peace and security caused by terrorist acts’ held under India’s current presidency of the UNSC, voiced concern over the situation in Afghanistan where India has made investments in the past two decades.”
Jaishankar said that in India’s own immediate neighbourhood, Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant. Khorasan (ISIL-K) has become more energetic and is constantly seeking to expand its footprint.
“Events unfolding in Afghanistan have naturally enhanced global concerns about their implications for both regional and international security,” he said, adding that the heightened activities of the proscribed Haqqani Network justify this growing anxiety.
Jaishankar said whether it is in Afghanistan or against India, groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) continue to operate with both impunity and encouragement.
“It is, therefore, vital that this Council does not take a selective, tactical or complacent view of the problems we face. We must never countenance sanctuaries for terrorists or overlook their raising of resources,” he said.
Jaishankar thanked Dr Davood Moradian, Director General of the Afghan Institute for Strategic Studies, for joining the briefing remotely and for sharing his valuable insights on the issue.
India on Tuesday rushed back home its ambassador Rudrendra Tandon and staff from the embassy in Kabul in a military transport aircraft following escalating tension, fear and uncertainty gripping the Afghan capital after the Taliban insurgents seized the Afghan capital on Sunday.
The ISIL-K is a blacklisted faction of the Islamic State terror group.
The UN Security Council’s 1267 Al Qaeda Sanctions Committee in 2019 blacklisted ISIL-K, which is also known as ISIL’s South Asia Branch, ISIL Khorasan, Islamic State’s Khorasan Province and South Asian Chapter of ISIL.
