印度卡達大使會見塔利班高層 塔利班接管阿富汗後首次
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印度駐卡達大使米塔爾(圖)與塔利班高級領導人舉行會談，這是自塔利班接管阿富汗以來，印度與塔利班首次正式的外交接觸。(路透社/達志影像)
印度外交部表示，印度駐卡達大使已在今天(26日)與塔利班高級領導人舉行會談，這是自塔利班接管阿富汗以來，印度與這個強硬派伊斯蘭組織首次正式的外交接觸。
印度外交部表示，大使米塔爾(Deepak Mittal)會見了塔利班駐杜哈(Doha)政治辦公室主任史塔尼克賽(Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai)。
路透社報導，長期以來，印度一直對塔利班感到擔憂，因為該組織與其主要競爭對手巴基斯坦關係密切。根據印度外交部，雙方並討論了滯留於阿富汗的印度人的安全問題。
印度外交部說，米塔爾並傳達了印度的擔憂，也就是反印度統治的武裝分子可能以阿富汗作為根據地發動襲擊。
印度外交部表示，「塔利班代表已向大使保證，這些問題將獲得積極解決。」
幾天前，當地媒體引述塔利班代表史塔尼克賽的說法報導，指塔利班希望與印度建立政治和經濟連結。
印度已在阿富汗投資逾30億美元，過去與美國支持的喀布爾政府建立密切聯繫。在先前塔利班勢力迅速在阿富汗各地推進的時候，印度政府因沒有及早打開和塔利班的溝通管道，而面臨國內批評。
數名政府消息人士則稱，印度已在6月於杜哈和塔利班政治領袖建立了非正式聯繫。 其中一位消息人士表示，印度最大的擔憂是，塔利班戰勝外國勢力將鼓舞穆斯林占多數的喀什米爾(Kashmir)地區中，反對印度統治的武裝組織更加大膽。
Indian envoy in Doha meets Taliban leader
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The meeting came at the request of the Taliban, say officials
In signs that the Government of India has softened its stance on the Taliban, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) announced that its Ambassador to Qatar Deepak Mittal met with the head of the Taliban’s political office, Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanekzai, on Tuesday.
While Indian security officials and diplomats are understood to have engaged with Taliban representatives for several months, this is the first time the government has publicly acknowledged such a meeting which, the MEA said, came at the request of the Taliban. Officials told The Hindu that the request came as Taliban leaders have been keen to receive some “acceptability”, and that India remains “cautious” about its approach to the group.
“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,” a statement issued by the MEA said, adding that Mr. Mittal said India’s concern was that “Afghanistan’s soil should not be used for anti-Indian activities and terrorism in any manner.”
About 140 Indians and members of the Sikh minority still remain in Kabul, and need to be brought back. India has thus far transported 565 people, including 112 Afghan nationals to Delhi. The numbers have been far lower than other countries like the U.S., which has evacuated 1,22,000 people, including more than 1,00,000 Afghan nationals, in some measure due to the fact that the government has security concerns and is strictly regulating any visas, and in some measure as it is unable to ensure the safe evacuation of people wishing to travel.
According to the MEA statement, the Taliban leader assured the Indian Ambassador that all the issues would be “positively addressed”. Mr. Stanekzai, who trained and graduated out of the Indian Military Academy at Dehradun, made a statement on Saturday calling for India to continue its political and trade ties with Afghanistan, and pursue connectivity projects.
The Haqqani group
The meeting and the statements came after a number of signals from New Delhi that it was recalibrating its earlier position on the Taliban as a terrorist group, after Taliban militants took control of the country on August 15. In particular, India has had concerns about the Haqqani group, which is a part of the Taliban and Taliban Deputy leader Sirajuddin Haqqani, who were responsible for the attacks on the Indian Embassy in 2008-2009. The attacks left more than 75 people, including Indian diplomats, dead. It is also believed that the Taliban is a proxy of Pakistan.
In the last few months, however, the MEA had said it was in touch with “various stakeholders” in Afghanistan, not denying that the Taliban was one of them, and Indian officials have met with Taliban representatives in Doha, according to sources. In June, one such meeting was confirmed by Qatari special envoy for reconciliation Mutlaq bin Majed Al-Qahtani. After the Taliban takeover of Kabul, when India decided to pull out all embassy staff, they were stopped from leaving for the airport by gunmen guarding the city, and the government had to open its channels to the Taliban to secure their release.
Money changed hands
According to sources, the Embassy in Kabul worked its communications to the Taliban through other countries and leaders like former President Hamid Karzai and High Council for National Reconciliation Chief Abdullah Abdullah, and eventually received permission after some money changed hands, and assurances given that the convoy would travel unarmed so as to reach the airport with Taliban escort.
Also Read The legal challenges in recognising the Taliban
As a result, while officials say some form of tactical engagement is necessary, it remains to be seen whether the Modi government will agree to re-establish its diplomatic presence in the country and to recognise a Taliban government, once it is formed.
While countries like Russia, China, Qatar, Iran and Pakistan have kept their embassies in Kabul open, others like the U.S., Saudi Arabia, the U.K. and European countries have closed their missions there. Speaking to Members of Parliament at a briefing last Friday, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said India would “wait and watch” the Taliban’s actions, especially with regard to human rights, treatment of women and minorities, and attitude towards terror groups that could target India using the Afghan territory.
Taliban Man Ambassador Deepak Mittal Met In Doha Trained With Indian Army
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The Taliban representative who met Ambassador Deepak Mittal, India’s envoy in Qatar, today in Doha, trained under the Indian Army at its elite institutions in the late 1970s and early 1980s. One of the seven persons who call the shots in the terrorist group that recently took over power in Afghanistan, Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai is a key diplomat of the insurgent group.