New Delhi, Sep 14 (FN Bureau) As a neighbouring country of Afghanistan, India is “naturally concerned about the developments within that country and their external repercussions” in the wake of the recent changes there, said Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla on Tuesday. Addressing a virtual symposium on ‘Glancing Back, Gazing Beyond: Understanding Afghanistan’, Shringla also said that India’s immediate focus has been the evacuation of Indian nationals from Afghanistan, and now resumption of flights from Kabul airport is a priority. The neighbourhood is India’s “primary diplomatic arena”, he said, adding “The primacy given to the neighbourhood in our diplomatic efforts is reflected in our Neighbourhood First policy which has been a defining feature of India’s foreign policy since 2014”. “As a neighbouring country of Afghanistan, we are naturally concerned about the developments within that country and their external repercussions. “India has a civilisational relationship with the Afghan people and those long-standing links guided and will continue to guide our approach,” he asserted.
He said that most Indian nationals and a number of Afghans, including minorities, were able to fly out of Kabul. But the processes could not be completed due to the security situation at the airport, in reference to the August 26 suicide bombing outside Kabul airport that killed close to 200 people. “Resumption of flights from Kabul airport is, therefore, a priority. We are closely monitoring the unfolding situation,” he said. Referring to India’s presidency of the UN Security Council in August, he said that during the period the UNSC met thrice to discuss the evolving situation in Afghanistan, resulting in four outcome documents. “These included three press statements and a resolution. At the last of these meetings, on August 30, the Council adopted UNSC Resolution (UNSCR) 2593, which comprehensively addressed the main pending issues relating to Afghanistan,” he added. The resolution unequivocally demands that Afghan territory not be used for sheltering, training, planning or financing terrorist acts; and specifically refers to terrorist individuals proscribed by the UN Security Council, including the Pakistan-backed Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad outfits.
The resolution also sets expectations on safe passage and secure departure of Afghans and all foreign nationals from Afghanistan. There is recognition of the need to uphold human rights, including of women and minorities, and to encourage all parties for an inclusive, negotiated political settlement. There is reaffirmation for responding to the desire of Afghans to sustain and build on Afghanistan’s gains over the last 20 years, he added. “It is only by remaining true to the principles professed in the UNSC resolution that we can make a meaningful contribution to Afghanistan at this time. We expect the international community to remain both responsive and united at a time of crisis,” the FS said.
“As for India, our long-standing investment in the people of Afghanistan has earned us tremendous goodwill and cemented the civilisational bond between our two countries. Our friendship with the Afghan people will continue to guide our approach in the future,” Shringla said. Elaborating on India’s development partnership with Afghanistan, he said it includes more than 500 projects spread across each of its 34 provinces. The projects cover critical areas such as power, water supply, road connectivity, healthcare, education, agriculture and capacity building. He said capacity building and training have been one of the main levers of India’s development partnership with Afghanistan. “Under our development assistance programme, we have built primary and secondary schools, colleges and universities across Afghanistan. More than 65,000 Afghan students have studied in India. Afghanistan is one of the largest beneficiaries of the Government of India’s ITEC scholarships,” he said. Afghanistan was accorded primacy in the supply of Covid-19 vaccines under India’s Vaccine Maitri initiative in the neighbourhood. India has also reached out with humanitarian food assistance worth millions of tonnes of wheat to Afghanistan.