New Delhi:
The United Nations Security Council has dropped the Taliban reference from a paragraph in its statement on terrorist attacks close to Kabul airport that named on Afghan groups not to assistance terrorists “operating on the territory of any other other country”.
India, which assumed the rotating Presidency of the United Nations Security Council for the month of August, signed off on the statement and issued it in its capacity as the chair for this month.
In an earlier statement on Afghanistan on August 16, a day following Kabul fell to the Taliban, the UN Security Council’s position was starkly distinct when it warned that “neither the Taliban nor any other Afghan group or individual should support terrorists operating on the territory of any other country”.
Syed Akbaruddin, India’s permanent representative at the United Nations till April last year, pointed out the distinction in the two statements and stated “the ‘T’ word is gone”.
In diplomacy…
A fortnight is a extended time…
The ‘T’ word is gone…????Compare the marked portions of @UN Security Council statements issued on 16 August & on 27 August… pic.twitter.com/BPZTk23oqX
— Syed Akbaruddin (@AkbaruddinIndia) August 28, 2021
On August 19 when asked how India views and bargains with the Taliban leadership, Foreign Minister Dr S Jaishankar stated it is nonetheless “early days”, adding the focus is on security and safety of the Indian nationals who are in Afghanistan.
India on Friday stated that the precise quantity of its citizens remaining in war-torn Afghanistan was unknown.
India has currently evacuated its mission employees from Kabul. Last week, the Taliban entered at least two of India’s consulates in Afghanistan, searched for documents and took away parked automobiles, government sources had stated, expressing be concerned that it meant the group is acting against the assurances its leaders have been providing to the world.
President Joe Biden has stated he will stick by his deadline to withdraw all US troops from Afghanistan by August 31.