'Deeply concerned' on evolving situation in Afghanistan, hope for immediate ceasefire, says MEA

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Arindam Bagchi on Thursday said India is concerned about the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan and that circumstances on the ground are “evolving”. “We are concerned about the deteriorating situation. We have asked Indians to return via commercial flights. We will ensure all necessary assistance to Hindus and Sikhs,” he said at a media briefing. Bagchi said India  attended a regional conference on Afghanistan in Doha on Thursday at the invitation of Qatar. This comes even as Afghan government negotiators in Qatar have offered the Taliban a power-sharing deal in return for an end to fighting in the country, a government negotiating source told AFP on Thursday. “The situation in Afghanistan is of concern. It is a rapidly evolving situation. We continue to hope that there will be a comprehensive ceasefire in Afghanistan,” he said. Asked about Pakistan’s continued support to the Taliban, Bagchi said the world is now aware of the terrorists Pakistan is pushing into Afghanistan. Earlier on Thursday, Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan has said that the terror group would not talk to the Afghanistan government until Asharaf Ghani remains the country’s president. Talking to foreign journalists in Islamabad, Imran said a political settlement was looking difficult under current conditions. “I tried to persuade the Taliban… three to four months back when they came here,” Pakistan’s The News International quoted Imran as saying. Bagchi also clarified, “The Indian embassy in Kabul is not shutting. Any such report is speculative,” he added. India meanwhile has brought back home about 50 of its officials and citizens living in and around  Mazar-e-Sharif  on 11 August.  It has asked all Indian citizens across Afghanistan to prepare to leave as more areas fall to the Taliban. The consulate at Mazar-e-Sharif was the last of the four Indian consulates in Afghanistan that still had some Indian staff on site. It is learnt that the consulate in Mazar-e-Sharif will continue to operate  through the local staff. India had pulled out Indian personnel from its consulate in Kandahar last month and shut down the consulates in Herat and Jalalabad last year. Asked about the recent American military assessment that Kabul could fall to the Taliban in 90 days, he said, “We will not get into speculation that Kabul will fall in three months or less.” With regard to videos and pictures of a helicopter, gifted by India to the Afghan government in May 2019, being captured by the Taliban doing the rounds on social media, Bagchi said, “These were projects that were Indian but handed over to Afghanistan. But we hope they will not get damaged. “This is nothing for us to comment on. Now, it’s an internal matter for Afghanistan,” he added.

#BREAKING: Taliban Captures Mi-24 attack helicopter which was gifted by India to Afghan Government in May 2019. This afternoon Taliban today captured Kunduz airport in Afghanistan. Video released by Taliban.  pic.twitter.com/9YkMYmYrKD

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— Aditya Raj Kaul (@AdityaRajKaul)  August 11, 2021

The Taliban has been making rapid advances across Afghanistan by resorting to widespread violence since the United States began withdrawing its troops from the country on 1 May. The development comes in the backdrop of the Taliban seizing the strategic Afghan city of  Ghazni  earlier in the day that is just 150 kilometres from Kabul, a development confirmed by the interior ministry. With the Afghan government’s hold on the country fast loosening, it has offered Taliban share in power and demanded an immediate halt to attacks on cities in a new peace plan. It is  estimated that since the beginning of the year nearly 400,000 Afghans have been internally displaced within the country — some 244,000 since May alone.