By Express News Service
NEW DELHI: The Afghanistan situation dominated the discussions between US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and the External Affairs Minister on Wednesday.
Blinken, who is on a two-day visit to India, said that the future of Afghanistan cannot be written with violence and denial of the basic rights of its people.
“It’s deeply troubling to see Taliban actions as it advances on city centres. We are supportive of the Afghan government and the Afghan forces. The leader of the Taliban wants to travel across the world and there is only one way of doing that. Taking the country by forces is not the path for the Taliban to reach its objectives,” the secretary of state said after the meeting with Jaishankar.
Amid the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan, Jaishankar said that the action will have consequences and that they have to be dealt with. The minister further said that there was a broad consensus between countries regarding peace and stability in the war-torn country. In an apparent reference to Pakistan, the minister said there were some exceptions.
Indo-US analyst Harinder Sekhon said that the gains of the past two decades would not be lost if the US could guarantee that the Indian interests, worth $3 billion, in the war-torn country are not harmed. “The Taliban resurgence has made the US recommit itself to continued support to Afghanistan through air and financial support. It, however, remains to be seen if these measures will deter the Taliban and the role Russia and China can play there,” she said.
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On the discussions on the Quad, both leaders emphasized the bilateral cooperation within the bloc with regard to vaccines and a free, open, and secure Indo-Pacific region. “In a globalised world, India’s interests are far beyond borders, we have interests in the Indo-Pacific. It’s not unusual for groups of countries to work together. BRICS is an example of this. Other countries should get over the idea that a grouping is against them,” the Foreign Minister said.
Earlier in the day, Blinken held a civil society roundtable where he met leaders of the Central Tibetan Administration and also called on National Security Advisor Ajit Doval. He also had an interaction with the staff of the US mission in India.
“The Indian people and the American people believe in human dignity, equality in opportunity, the rule of law, fundamental freedoms, including freedom of religion and belief. We believe that all people deserve to have a voice in their government and be treated with respect no matter who they are. Theseare fundamental tenets of democracies like ours, and our purpose is to give real meaning to these words and constantly renew our commitment to these ideals,” he told members of the civil society.
Later in the day, he called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi who welcomed the Joe Biden administration’s commitment to bilateral ties. “Good to meet US Secretary of State @SecBlinken today. I welcome President Biden’s strong commitment to strengthening the India-US Strategic Partnership, which is anchored in our shared democratic values and is a force for global good,” the Prime Minister tweeted.
Blinken will head back to the US via Kuwait.
