Editor in Chief: Moh. Reza Huwaida Thursday, March 28th, 2024

Indian Officials Met Taliban in Doha: Qatar

Indian Officials Met  Taliban in Doha: Qatar

ISTANBUL - According to a senior Turkish defense official, a US military delegation will visit Ankara later this week to hold detailed consultations on a possible Turkish role in securing Kabul International Airport following Nato’s withdrawal.
Turkey has reportedly pledged to protect Hamid Karzai International Airport, as concerns persist about how security would be ensured along important transportation lines and at the airport, which is the primary entrance to the capital Kabul.
Jake Sullivan, the US national security advisor, reported that US president Joe Biden and Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan decided to work together to assure the Turkish mission is established, by the US president’s September 11th deadline to withdraw all US troops from Afghanistan, during their first bilateral meeting on Monday.
Ankara expressed that in order to take the leading role, other allied countries were asked to help financially, logistically, also with troops. Erdogan told reporters on Monday at the conclusion of a series of meetings with NATO leaders that Turkey is seeking Pakistan’s and Hungary’s participation in the new mission in Afghanistan once the US-led NATO force leaves.
According to sources, Hungary indicated interest in participating in the mission during a meeting between Erdogan and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban on the sidelines of the NATO summit earlier this month.
Although no official deal has been signed between Ankara and NATO over undertaking this responsibility, Erdogan’s and US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan’s statements, however, suggested that the two countries were close to reaching an agreement. Therefore, on Wednesday or Thursday, a US delegation will visit Ankara. (Khaama Press)

DOHA - Indian officials made a “quiet visit” to Doha in order to talk to the Taliban’s political leadership, a Qatari official said on Monday.
“I understand that there has been a quiet visit by Indian officials to speak to the Taliban,” said Qatar’s Special Envoy of the State of Qatar for Counterterrorism and Mediation of Conflict Resolution Mutlaq bin Majed Al Qahtani, speaking at a web conference, Indian newspaper The Hindu reported.
The statement came just days after Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar stopped over in Doha to meet with the Qatari leadership twice in the last two weeks.
Qahtani said the reasoning behind the Indian delegation’s meeting with the Taliban was that the group will have a “key” role in Afghanistan’s future.
“Not that everybody thinks the Taliban is going to dominate and take over, but because it is a key component of the future of Afghanistan. So, I see this as the reason behind having a dialogue or talks and reaching out to all parties in Afghanistan,” at the conference on Afghan peace organised by the Arab Centre in Washington and Centre for Conflict and Humanitarian Studies in Doha.
He said that Afghanistan as a country should not become a place for a proxy war for other countries.
“It is in the interest of Pakistan and India to have a stable Afghanistan. Pakistan is a neighbouring country. India is a country that we know has assisted a lot economically in Afghanistan and they want it to be peaceful and stable,” he added. (1TV News)