- Monday, February 24, 2025
By: Shubham Ghosh
THE Taliban, who have shown a resurgence in Afghanistan as the US-led western forces have started exiting the country after almost 20 years, have appreciated India’s humanitarian and developmental efforts there but at the same time, warned New Delhi against playing a military role in the violence-ravaged nation saying “that will not be good for them”.
The extremist group’s Qatar-based spokesperson Suhail Shaheen has told ANI news agency, “What do you mean by military role? If they come to Afghanistan militarily and have their presence. I think that will not be good for them, they have seen the fate of military presence in Afghanistan of other countries. So it is an open book for them. And about their help to the Afghan people or national projects, I think that is something which is appreciated.”
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“We appreciate everything that has been done for the people of Afghanistan like dams, national projects, infrastructure and anything that is for the development of Afghanistan, for its reconstruction, for economic prosperity and for the people of Afghanistan,” he added.
India is among several countries, including the US, that have evacuated staff from their consulates located in Afghanistan’s provinces which the Taliban have overrun in recent weeks. Many nations have also reduced their staff on Afghanistan soil even as the Taliban have promised that the diplomatic community will not be targeted.
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“About assurance to diplomats and embassies, there is no danger from our side to them. We will not target any embassy, any diplomat that we have said in our statements, not once but many times. So it is our commitment that is being published is in media. On India’s concerns, I think it is up to them. About us, our position is clear we are not targeting any diplomat or embassy,” Shaheen said.
In July, Shaheen said in an interview that while India is welcome to carry out its aid and reconstruction work on the Afghan soil after the Taliban come to power, it should not give the current administration in Kabul any military help.
When the spokesperson was asked by the safety of Sikhs and Hindus living in Afghanistan, specifically about the recent incident when a Sikh religious flag was brought down at a gurudwara in Patkia province, he said the flag was brought down by the Sikhs themselves and the minorities will be allowed to practice their rituals.
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“That flag was removed by the Sikh community there. They removed that themselves. When there were reports in the media, we reached to our officials in Paktika province and informed them about that and then our security forces went to the gurdwara and asked about the problem,” Shaheen said, adding the group has assured that the community could observe their religious rituals and ceremonies.
In another interview to Indian news channel NDTV, Shaheen said Indian photojournalist Danish Siddiqui, who was killed in a crossfire in Afghanistan last month, did not coordinate with the Taliban and refused to accept that he was killed by the extremist group’s fighters.
The Taliban, who were ousted by the US intervention in 2001 following the 9/11 attacks, now controls more than half of the country’s provincial capitals and is approaching Kabul, the fall of which will indicate that they have taken complete control of the country. Shaheen told NDTV that the Taliban have now taken control of 90 per cent of Afghanistan.
