New Delhi: The Indian Government on Thursday called for an all-party meeting to discuss the situation in Afghanistan after the Taliban seized power in the war-ravaged country. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar briefed the leaders on the latest situation in Afghanistan after the Taliban captured power there last week.
“There is longstanding national sentiment on Afghanistan. Therefore, there is national concern now at developments,” Jaishankar said.
“All parties have similar views, we approached the issue with a spirit of national unity,” the minister said following the meeting.
The government said that evacuating Indian personnel from Afghanistan, was a top priority.
The government also described the situation in the war-torn country as ‘critical’ and said the Taliban has broken the promises made in the Doha agreement. Among other things, the Doha pact, inked between the Taliban leaders and the US in February 2020, envisaged religious freedom and democracy, with a government in Kabul that represented all sections of Afghan society.
News agency PTI reported that a document shared in the meeting shows that the Indian government has evacuated 175 Embassy personnel, 263 other Indian nationals, 112 Afghan nationals including Hindus and Sikhs, and 15 third country nationals. The total figure stood at 565.