New Delhi: "We are jumping the gun regarding recognition," MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said here on Friday, August 27, fielding questions and making it clear that the first priority for the government of India at this moment is a safe evacuation of people from Afghanistan.
"The situation on the ground is uncertain, as all of you know. Our prime concern currently is the safety and security of our people. Currently, there is a lack of clarity or no clarity about any entity forming the government in Kabul. So we are jumping the ground here regarding recognition (of a future Taliban Govt). We, of course, continue to monitor the situation carefully. It's an evolving situation," the MEA spokesperson told a weekly media briefing here.
He said India has already maintained contacts with all stakeholders to answer a question on back-channel talks with the Taliban. "Hamarey contact rah chuken haen". The current situation is 'fluid', and so "we remain in touch with our partner countries and we will monitor the situation."
What is being awaited is 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. On Thursday, External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar briefed an all-party meeting on the Afghanistan situation where he underlined that the current stance of India is to wait and watch. But India is engaged with important stakeholders and other countries.
Answering questions, the spokesperson said, the Union Home Ministry caters to the issue of foreign nationals who arrive in India, and the same yardstick applies for Afghan nationals who have been evacuated from violence-ravaged Afghanistan. He said the E-Visa (Emergency Visas) issued are for six months, so "Afghan nationals have arrived India on this six-month Visas. We will take it up from there after we see … (how things pan out)," Bagchi said.
To another question, he said it is true some Afghan nationals, including Sikhs, could not reach the Kabul airport on Thursday (August 26) to catch the flight. But he did not hazard any guess on 'numbers' as to how many Afghan Sikhs and others could not reach the airport, but are now putting up in a Kabul Gurudwara.
India has been in touch with the US, UK, France, Russia, China, Germany, Qatar, Iran, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, others, and the UN Secretary-General. He also said foreign secretary Harsh V Shringla would be attending events relating to the wrap-up session of India's UNSC presidency, including the UNSC Open Briefing on the Middle East. After his engagements in New York, Mr Shringla will visit Washington DC for bilateral consultations.
