India has raised Pakistan’s Taliban links during a high-level inter-governmental consultation on Afghanistan with Russia and emphasized that Islamabad’s links with the Taliban should not be used to spread terrorism using Afghanistan’s soil.
During the inter-governmental talks with Russia, India highlighted, “Pakistan’s links with Taliban and other international terrorist groups operating in Afghanistan, and the special responsibility that it bears to ensure that Afghanistan soil is not used to spread terrorism.”
Both sides (India and Russia) expressed concern over developments in Afghanistan. There was a convergence of views on majors issues and common threats.
- Need for Taliban to adhere to promises.
- Presence of international terrorist groups in Afghanistan and threat from terrorism to Central Asia and India.
- Islamic radicalisation & extremism.
- Flow of weapons to terror groups & smuggling across Afghan borders.
- High chances of Afghanistan becoming the hub of opium production & trafficking.
Meanwhile, terming the Taliban-unveiled new ‘caretaker’ government in Afghanistan as ‘illegal’, the anti-Taliban forces in the country have urged the international community not to recognise it.
The interim cabinet announced on Tuesday has drawn criticism from the US, as it consists entirely of Taliban leaders or their associates and does not include any woman member. The US expressed concern at figures linked to attacks on US forces, reported the BBC.
The interim cabinet is led by Mullah Mohammad Hassan Akhund, who is on a UN blacklist. Another figure, Sirajuddin Haqqani, is wanted by the American FBI.
