India News | TMC Says It Supports Govt's Decisions on Issues Relating to Afghanistan Situation

New Delhi, Aug 26 (PTI) The TMC on Thursday said that the party supported the government in decisions taken on issues relating to the situation in Afghanistan and handed over a list of 125 people from West Bengal who are stranded in the country which was recently taken over by the Taliban.

Briefing the leaders at an all-party meet, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday said the government has adopted a "wait and watch" approach in dealing with the Taliban, depending on the evolving situation. In an answer to a similar question, he later told reporters that let the situation settle down in Afghanistan.

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"The West Bengal chief minister has extended support to the government at this critical juncture and we do not want to speak at cross purposes with it given the current geo-political situation," said TMC MP Sougato Roy, who was present in the meeting along with party MP Sukhendu Sekhar Ray.

"We have raised two issues. One about the evacuation of Indians from Afghanistan, and we gave the government a list of 125 people from West Bengal who are stranded there. The second issue was of India's investments in the country, their future and the recovery of our investments," he said.

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Roy also said that the government replied in detail on getting the stranded Indians back but on the other questions it preferred the "wait and watch" approach.

"The government said that it was in touch with other foreign countries like the US, UK, France, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Quatar and Central Asian countries. They also informed us that they have posted officials from the Embassy at the Afghan airport to facilitate evacuation," he said.

Roy also said that as far as engaging with the Taliban was concerned, the government stated that like other countries, India also opted to "wait and watch" as the situation was "fluid" and "changing everyday".

He also said that during the meeting, other parties raised the issue of threat to India's internal security in the case Afghanistan became a "launchpad for terrorists". The government, Roy said, assured the leaders that it was monitoring the situation closely.

Jaishankar, sources said, informed that a 24X7 Special Afghanistan Cell had been established in the Ministry of External Affairs to coordinate repatriation and other requests from that country.

The sources said that the Doha agreement between the US and Afghanistan was also raised in the meeting but Jaishankar informed the leaders that India was yet to receive the text of the agreement.

The Doha Agreement for Bringing Peace to Afghanistan is a pact signed between the United States and the Taliban on February 29, 2020.

Sources in other opposition parties said that many leaders criticised the "relative silence" on the new regime in Afghanistan and also expressed concerns about a line of thought that New Delhi was being "marginalised" in the Afghan talks and "isolated from traditional allies in the region".

Addressing the media after the meeting, Roy said, "Overall there was a consensus that contentious issued should not be raised in the meeting. In fact, I mentioned that one minister had raised the question of CAA in regard to Sikh and Hindu refugees, but ministers should not raise this divisive issue."

While CPI MP Binoy Viswam commended Jaishankar for the meeting, he criticised the government for having no answers on "crucial questions".

"Jayasankarji conducted the meeting in a democratic manner. Congrats to him. Alas, his government had no answers for crucial questions," he said in a tweet.

Viswam asked how many Indians were stranded in Afghanistan and as the Indian embassy was shut down and who would take care of them. He questioned why did the US hasten the troop withdrawal to August 15 and what was the prudence in putting all the eggs in the basket of the US.

Vishwam asked if the government had forgotten that the Taliban was the brain child of the US and questioned what was the UN's guideline on refugees, whether it was humanitarian consideration or religion. He also questioned the government that if Taliban was to make Kabul the springboard of terrorism how was India to face it.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)