India Supports Direct Talks Between Afghan Govt and Taliban, Says Syed Akbaruddin

India’s permanent representative to the United Nations Syed Akbaruddin on Wednesday said that India supports UN Secretary General’s call for direct talks between Afghanistan government and Taliban. This comes after US President Donald Trump decided to suspend a year-old talks to reach a peace deal with the Taliban. He called on the International community to continue its support by fulfilling the commitments made to the Afghan security forces in their fight against the scourge of terrorism.

“It is the Afghan people who will implement and bear the consequences of any agreements arrived at” said Akbaruddin. 

"Support and safe havens enjoyed from beyond Afghanistan’s borders by groups such as Taliban, Haqqani Network, Da'esh, as well as Al Qaeda and its proscribed affiliates, including Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed, must be addressed”, he added. 

Earlier, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres had urged all the parties to not interfere in the upcoming presidential elections in Afghanistan and let electoral officers do their work. He had asked Taliban, ‘to desist from threatening or targeting electoral staff, candidates or voters.’

Moreover, US President Donald Trump called off the Afghanistan peace talks with the Taliban saying it as “dead”. Speaking to reporters at the White House he said that the United States had hit the group harder in the last four days than any time in 10 years. “They (talks with the Taliban) are dead. As far as I’m concerned, they’re dead,” he said.

US troops were first sent to Afghanistan after the September 11, 2001 attacks carried out by Al-Qaeda, which was sheltered by the former Taliban regime. Washington now seeks to end its military involvement—the longest in its history—and has been talking to the Taliban since at least 2018. 

HIGHLIGHTS

• Syed Akbaruddin said India supports direct talks between Afghan govt and Taliban
• Donald Trump called off the Afghanistan peace talks with  Taliban
• US troops were first sent to Afghanistan in 2001