Won't allow anti-India terror from Afghan soil, Taliban assures Delhi

By a staff reporter :



In a major breakthrough marking the first official contact between the Taliban and the Indian government in Doha, the capital of Qatar, a top Taliban representative on Tuesday assured India that it would not allow Afghan soil to be used by terrorists against it. After the Taliban reached out and sought a meeting, the head of the Taliban’s political office in Doha, Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanekzai, met India’s ambassador to Qatar Deepak Mittal at the Indian embassy in Doha. The ambassador, besides the concerns over terrorism, also raised the issue of the “safety, security and early return of Indian nationals stranded in Afghanistan”, as well as the “travel of Afghan nationals”, especially Afghan Hindus and Sikhs, who wish to travel to India. The senior Taliban leader assured him that India’s concerns would be “positively addressed”, New Delhi said in a statement.