At All-Party Meeting, Jaishankar Says Govt Will 'Wait and Watch' the Evolving Afghan Situation
New Delhi: External affairs minister S. Jaishankar told the all-party meeting that the Indian government had adopted a ‘wait and watch’ policy, with priority given to evacuating Indian nationals and Afghan nationals following the seizure of power by the Taliban.
We have undertaken evacuation operations in extremely difficult conditions especially at the airport.
Our immediate concern and task is evacuation and long term interest is the friendship for the Afghan people.
— Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) August 26, 2021
Lasting over three and half hours, the all-party meeting was attended by 37 members from 31 political parties. After initial remarks by Jaishankar, a formal presentation was made by foreign secretary Harsh Shringla.
According to The Hindu, the meeting was attended by Congress leaders Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, Mallikarjun Kharge and Anand Sharma; Nationalist Congress Party leader Sharad Pawar; Trinamool Congress leaders Saugata Roy and Sukhendu Shekhar Roy; former prime minister and Janata Dal (Secular) leader Deve Gowda; DMK MPs Tiruchi Siva and T.R. Baalu; Telangana Rashtra Samithi’s Nama Nageshwara Rao; Telegu Desam Party’s Jaydev Galla; CPI MP Binoy Viswam; and others.
From the government side, the Union minister and leader of the house in Rajya Sabha Piyush Goyal and parliamentary affairs minister Pralhad Joshi also attended the meeting.
“The message that we all want to give you is that on this matter, we have a similar view. We have a strong national position. The friendship with the Afghan people is something that matters to all of us. So we approach this situation in a manner of national unity,” the foreign minister told reporters after the meeting.
According to reports, Jaishankar told the political leaders that India was adopting a “wait and watch” policy, just like the rest of the world. He stated that the situation in Afghanistan continued to be critical.
“It is an evolving situation, and I request everybody to be patient so that once the situation normalises, we can tell you what India's stand is,” Jaishankar said,
External affairs minister S. Jaishankar with Union ministers Piyush Goyal and Pralhad Joshi, briefs the all-party panel over the present situation in Afghanistan in New Delhi, August 26, 2021. Photo: PTI/Vijay Verma
During the meeting, the leader of opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Malikarjun Kharge, raised the issue of the deportation of Afghan women member of parliament Rangina Kargar on arrival at Indira Gandhi international airport last week.
"At the meeting, we raised the issue of deportation of a woman MP. He (Jaishankar) said it was a mistake, and such an incident will not happen in the future. They (government) regretted it," Kharge told reporters.
The Congress leader said his party raised various issues and concerns at the meeting and suggested that the government keep the interest as well as the safety of Afghan citizens in mind, along with the safety of Afghan students in India.
"He (Jaishankar) replied to the issues raised by us. Now, we will see how much of this is implemented," he said.
Kharge said the situation in Afghanistan is a concern for the entire country. "We want to talk unitedly. All parties have taken the same view," he added.
Asked if the Congress was satisfied with the meeting, Kharge said, "We will wait and see. They (government) have replied. We will have to see how much they implement... We will see how they evacuate those who are still left in Afghanistan. We will see what will be our stand vis-a-vis other countries."
Kharge also raised a series of questions on the government’s contingency plan to evacuate Indians if they are stranded beyond the August 31 deadline and the exact number of Indians yet to be evacuated. The Hindu reported that the government did not share the exact number.
The Congress also reportedly asked about the concerns about a rise in terrorism in Kashmir following the return of the Taliban to Afghanistan.
Some also questioned the absence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Kharge, according to the sources, said the prime minister should have been present at such a meeting, citing the precedent set by Vajpayee.
Left leaders like CPI(M)’s P.R. Natarajan questioned whether the US had kept India in the loop when it decided to advance the withdrawal of American forces from Afghanistan.
India currently has no diplomatic presence in Afghanistan, after all its officials, including the ambassador, were brought back by a military plane on August 17.
(With PTI inputs)
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