India has yet to decide on the issue of involving the Taliban



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India has cautiously responded to the suggestion by United States Special Envoy Zalmay Khalilzad that New Delhi should engage directly with the Taliban, people familiar with the events indicated on Thursday, adding that a decision has not yet been made.

During his visit to New Delhi last week, Khalilzad, Afghanistan’s special representative for reconciliation, asked India to engage with the Taliban and directly discuss its terrorism-related concerns. During an interview with the media, he said that the United States wants India to take a more active role in the Afghan peace process.

“We have our own perspectives on Afghanistan, and our traditional and neighborhood relations with the people of Afghanistan will continue to guide our Afghan policy,” said one of the people named above on condition of anonymity.

People indicated that India has yet to decide on the crucial issue of engaging with the Taliban.

For years, the Indian government has stayed away from any move to engage the Taliban, either directly or indirectly, largely due to concerns related to the terrorist group’s close ties to the Pakistani military establishment.

Nearest India came to be at the same table as the Taliban when New Delhi sent two former ambassadors as “unofficial” representatives to a meeting under the Moscow Format mechanism in Russia in November 2018.

During their meetings with Khalilzad last week, Foreign Minister S Jaishankar and national security adviser Ajit Doval voiced India’s strong concerns about increased terrorist violence in Afghanistan and called for the eradication of terrorist sanctuaries. in Pakistan to guarantee peace in the war-torn country.

“India is deeply concerned at the increase in violence and supports the call for an immediate ceasefire and [the] they need to help the people of Afghanistan deal with [the] coronavirus pandemic, “the foreign ministry said in a statement about the Khalilzad meetings.

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