An Indian delegation made a \u201cquiet visit\u201d to the Gulf nation of Qatar to meet with the Taliban, a senior Qatari government official stated on Monday.<\/p>\n
During a webinar, Qatar\u2019s special envoy for counterterrorism and mediation of conflict resolution Mutlaq bin Majed Al Qahtani revealed this information in the first official acknowledgment of links between India and the Afghan insurgent group, Taliban.<\/p>\n
There has been no response from the Indian government following the significant remarks by the Qatari government official.<\/p>\n
In answer to a question from The Hindu about the role of India in the delayed Afghan peace process, Al Qahtani stated that it was a \u201cvery complicated question\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfghanistan soil should not become a proxy for any countries. Yes, it is in the interest of Pakistan to have a more stable Afghanistan. It is in the interest of India to have a more stable Afghanistan. We understand Pakistan is a neighboring country. India is the country that has done a lot of economically and of course they want Pakistan to be more peaceful and stable,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The Qatari official then perceived that New Delhi has also reached out to the Taliban\u2019s political office in Doha. \u201cI understand that there has been a quiet visit by Indian officials from India to speak with the Taliban. Why? Because not everyone is believing that the Taliban will dominate and take over, but because the Taliban is a key component of future Afghanistan. So, I see the reason for having a dialogue or talks and reaching out to all parties in Afghanistan,\u201d he stated.<\/p>\n
He cautioned that since it was a \u201ccritical stage\u201d in the Afghan peace process if any meeting is taking place, \u201cit should be for the main reason to encourage the parties to solve their differences by peaceful means\u201d.<\/p>\n
India\u2019s official policy has been to not recognize the Taliban in any way, with the Afghan government accorded the recognition as the only legitimate stakeholder in the war-ravaged country.<\/p>\n
When the Taliban were invited to talks with Afghan government representatives in Moscow, India had sent retired diplomats as observers, rather than officials in the delegation.<\/p>\n
During the official signing of the Doha agreement last year, India\u2019s ambassador to Qatar had attended the ceremony. When the intra-Afghan talks began in September 2020, India sent a senior diplomat to Doha, while Indian foreign minister S. Jaishankar attended through video link.<\/p>\n
Last week, during his visit to Kenya and Kuwait, Jaishankar transited twice through Qatar. India stated that he had met with the Qatari leadership and US Special Representative for Afghanistan reconciliation, Zalmay Khalilzad in Doha.<\/p>\n
Earlier this month, The Hindustan Times reported that there was a \u201chuge shift\u201d in India\u2019s policy by attempts to conduct outreach with the Taliban.<\/p>\n
In response to the article, external affairs ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi declined to comment on that particular report, but added that India has supported \u201call peace initiatives, and have been engaged with several stakeholders, including regional countries\u201d.<\/p>\n
He reiterated, \u201cWe are in touch with various stakeholders, as I said, in pursuance of our long-term commitments towards development and reconstruction of Afghanistan.\u201d<\/p>\n
This is the second time that an official of a Gulf kingdom has mentioned an Indian diplomatic initiative which is largely kept under cover by New Delhi.<\/p>\n
In April, UAE\u2019s ambassador to the US, Yousef Al Otaiba, stated that the Gulf nation played a role \u201cin bringing Kashmir escalation down and created a ceasefire, hopefully ultimately leading to restoring diplomats and getting the relationship back to a wholesome positive level\u201d.<\/p>\n
The world watches anxiously with bidders for peace to be established in Afghanistan, a war-torn nation that now needs to build itself up.<\/p>\n