The Foreign Ministry also said on Thursday that its top priority was the evacuation of “very few” Indian citizens who were still in Afghanistan, but added that the situation at Kabul airport had to normalize first.
MEA spokesman Arindam Bagchi described the Taliban’s response to India’s position on the issue in a positive meeting at Tuesday’s meeting with India’s ambassador to Qatar, Deepak Mittal. Taliban Mohammad Stanekzai. However, he said it was too early to talk about Taliban recognition or even to say that such meetings will be held in the future.
“The Doha meeting should be seen for what it was … it was just a meeting,” the official said, adding that instead of focusing on whether or not the Taliban were a terrorist organization, l ‘India sought to ensure that Afghanistan was not used for activities against India. He added that India had no details on what kind of government would be formed in Kabul.
While India quickly announced the meeting on Tuesday in a press release, the Taliban continue to maintain radio silence over dialogue with India’s ambassador. This is in stark contrast to the way Taliban spokesmen have tweeted about Stanekzai’s meetings with other ambassadors and ministers.
Since Tuesday, when Mittal met with Stanekzai at the Indian embassy, the Taliban have officially confirmed on Twitter that the main Taliban leader, who is also the deputy director of the Taliban’s political office in Qatar, has left. meet with the ambassadors of China, Turkey and Canada and also the Dutch Deputy Foreign Minister. The Taliban’s reluctance to speak publicly about the meeting has raised eyebrows because, as India had said in its statement, it was the Taliban who had sought the meeting.
Bagchi said it depended on the Taliban whether they wanted to talk about it or not. Asked if the Taliban did not want any photos of the meeting to be posted, Bagchi said “it wasn’t really that kind of event where photos were taken.”
“I don’t think there’s any thought behind it … we don’t have a picture of it. I don’t think any of the parties took a picture,” he said.
The Taliban’s silence at the meeting has also led to speculation as to whether this was intended to alleviate apprehensions in Pakistan over the “disclosure” of India by Stanekzai and others.
This alleged spread has seen Taliban spokesmen assuring India that terrorist groups would not be allowed to target India and that the Indian authorities could continue to conduct economic activities in Afghanistan.
Although in India it has been difficult to obtain these guarantees, mainly from Doha-based leaders, on their face value. Their concerns were exacerbated on Thursday by reports from Islamabad citing Pakistani Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid that Pakistan had trained Taliban leaders and cared for them for a long time. He also said all major Taliban leaders were “born and educated” in Pakistan.