Afghanistan: Indian Envoy to Qatar meets Taliban; China Seeks 'Clean Break' with Terror Groups, Inclusive Govt

New Delhi: The Indian envoy to Qatar Deepak Mittal on Tuesday met Taliban leader Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanekzai in Doha, te first high-level contact between the two sides on a day the US completed withdrawal of its troops from 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.

It said the discussions focused on safety, security and early return of Indian nationals stranded in Afghanistan as well as the travel of Afghan nationals wishing to visit to India.

The MEA said the Taliban leader assured the Mittal that these issues would be positively addressed.

"Today, Ambassador of India to Qatar, Deepak Mittal, met Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanekzai, the Head of Taliban's Political Office in Doha," the MEA said in a release. 

It said the meeting took place at the Embassy of India, Doha, on the request of the Taliban side.

"Discussions focused on safety, security and early return of Indian nationals stranded in Afghanistan. The travel of Afghan nationals, especially minorities, who wish to visit to India also came up," the MEA said.

"Ambassador Mittal raised India's concern that Afghanistan's soil should not be used for anti-Indian activities and terrorism in any manner," it added.

Meanwhile, sources said a high-level group comprising External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, NSA Ajit Doval and a number of other senior officials is focusing on India's immediate priorities in Afghanistan following the drawdown of American forces from the country after 20 years of presence.

Official sources said on Tuesday that the group has been meeting regularly over the last few days following a direction from Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

India's immediate priorities have been the safe return of the Indians still in Afghanistan, bringing back the Afghan nationals who stood by New Delhi, and ensuring that Afghan soil is not used for terrorism directed at India

"In view of the evolving situation in Afghanistan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently directed that a high-level group comprising of External Affairs Minister, the National Security Adviser and senior officials focus on the immediate priorities of India," said a source.

There is still no clarity on the formation of a government in Kabul, over two weeks after the Taliban seized control of the Afghan capital city.

India is adopting a wait and watch approach to see whether the new dispensation in Afghanistan will be solely a government of the Taliban or be part of a power-sharing arrangement with other Afghan leaders.

India has been a key stakeholder in Afghanistan and it has invested nearly $3 billion in carrying out nearly 500 projects across Afghanistan. It has been in touch with all major regional players including those in the Gulf region on the developments in Afghanistan.

The UN Security Council, under India's presidency, on Monday adopted a resolution demanding that the territory of Afghanistan not be used to threaten any country or shelter terrorists.

There have been mounting concerns in India over the possibility of rise in activities of various terror groups including Lashkar-e-Toiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed from Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.

China asks Taliban to form inclusive government for recognition

Beijing: As the Taliban took complete control of Kabul after the US troops left Afghanistan ending America's two-decade-old war, China on Tuesday asked the militant group to make a "clean break" from terrorist outfits and form an open, inclusive government that follows moderate policies to get international recognition.

"Afghanistan is broken free from foreign military intervention and the Afghan people are standing at a new starting point of peace and reconstruction," Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told a media briefing here on Tuesday, flaying US military intervention in the neighbouring country.

"The US troop withdrawal shows that the wanton military intervention in other countries and forcible imposition of values and social systems onto others will lead to nowhere and is doomed to fail," he said.

However, when asked whether China is ready to recognise the Taliban as a legitimate authority in the country, Wang said, "we hope Afghanistan can form an open inclusive and representative government, follow moderate and prudent domestic and foreign policies, combat all forms of terrorist forces live in harmony with other countries, live up to the aspiration of its own people and the international community”.

Stating that China respects Afghanistan’s sovereignty and will not interfere and follow the friendship with“entire Afghan people”, Wang said,“facts show that in realising economic development we need an open inclusive political structure, implementation of moderate foreign and domestic policies and clean break from terrorist groups in all forms”.

He specially mentioned the Taliban’s commitment given by its de-facto leader Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar to Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his last month’s visit to China that Kabul will not allow the Uygur Muslim militant group - the East Turkistan Islamic Movement (ETIM), which is fighting for the independence of the volatile Xinjiang province, to operate from Afghan soil.

"China will continue to maintain close communication and coordination with all parties in Afghanistan and the world to support Afghanistan and provide assistance to help Afghanistan to restore peace, rebuild economy, combat terrorist groups including ETIM and integrate into the international community,” he said.

On why China, along with Russia, abstained from the voting on the UN Security Council resolution asking for commitments made by it regarding the safe, secure, and orderly departure from Afghanistan of Afghans and foreign nationals besides not sheltering terrorist groups, Wang said Beijing had“big doubts’ about the content.

"The countries concerned circulated a draft resolution on Friday evening, demanding actions to be taken on Monday. China has big doubts about the necessity and urgency of adopting this resolution and balance of its content," he said.

China and Russia put forward “reasonable amendments”. “Unfortunately, our amendments have not been fully adopted. China always opposes forcible pushing of resolutions,” prompting China to abstain, he said.

"Fundamental changes have taken place in Afghanistan and action to be taken by the UNSC, including the timing of the actions, should help to ease the conflict instead of the tensions and facilitate smooth transition instead of plunging the country back into chaos,” he said, adding that the current crisis in Kabul is “directly related to hasty chaotic withdrawal of foreign troops”.

"We hope the relevant countries will realise the fact that withdrawal itself is not an end of the responsibility but the beginning of reflection and correction,” he said.

Taliban will have to earn international legitimacy: Blinken

In Washington, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the Taliban will have to earn international legitimacy and support by meeting their commitments on freedom of travel, counterterrorism, respecting the basic rights of the Afghan people, including women and minorities, and forming an inclusive government.

Blinken said the US will engage with the Taliban not on the basis of what a Taliban-led government says, but what it does to live up to its commitments.

“The Taliban seek international legitimacy and support. Our message is: any legitimacy and any support will have to be earned,”Blinken said in an address to the nation hours after the US concluded its mission to Afghanistan early Tuesday.

“The Taliban can do that by meeting commitments and obligations – on freedom of travel; respecting the basic rights of the Afghan people, including women and minorities; upholding its commitments on counterterrorism; not carrying out reprisal violence against those who choose to stay in Afghanistan; and forming an inclusive government that can meet the needs and reflect the aspirations of the Afghan people,” he said.

 The US completed the withdrawal of its forces from Kabul, ending 20 years of war that culminated in the Taliban's return to power on August 15.

Blinken said the US engaged with the Taliban during the past few weeks for evacuation operations.

“Going forward, any engagement with a Taliban-led government in Kabul will be driven by one thing only: our vital national interests.”

“If we can work with a new Afghan government in a way that helps secure those interests – including the safe return of Mark Frerichs, a US citizen who has been held hostage in the region since early last year – and in a way that brings greater stability to the country and region and protects the gains of the past two decades, we will do it,” he said.

“But we will not do it on the basis of trust or faith. Every step we take will be based not on what a Taliban-led government says, but what it does to live up to its commitments,” Blinken added.

 He said the US will continue its humanitarian assistance to the people of Afghanistan.

Going forward, he said, the US will coordinate closely with countries in the region and around the world as well as with leading international organisations, NGOs and the private sector.

Merkel says it's important to talk to Taliban

In Berlin, Chancellor Angela Merkel stressed that Germany is focused on humanitarian aid now and on helping former local Afghan staffers who were not evacuated in the last two weeks, an APreport said.

Germany has evacuated more than 5,000 people from Afghanistan this month, the majority of them Afghans.

She said while Germany doesn't have any diplomatic relations with the Taliban, it's important to talk to the militant group, also in order to get further Afghans in need of evacuation out of the country.

Merkel spoke ahead of talks on Tuesday with her Austrian counterpart Sebastian Kurz in Berlin. Kurz reiterated his country's position to not take in any migrants from Afghanistan.

He said that “when it comes admission, my position in known. Nothing much has changed there. Especially, because Austria has done a lot already. We have taken in a disproportionately high amount of people since 2015, we have the per-capita fourth biggest Afghan community worldwide.”

Kurz has long taken a tough approach to migration issues. Last month he said that he also would not halt the deportations of rejected asylum seekers to Afghanistan despite the situation there.