‘Decided to upgrade mission, send diplomats’: Muttaqi after meeting Jaishankar
Muttaqi said it was decided that India would upgrade its technical mission in Kabul to a diplomatic mission and Afghan diplomats would come to New Delhi
NEW DELHI: The Taliban regime will soon send its diplomats to the Afghan mission in New Delhi to take forward relations, Taliban foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi said on Friday, even as he reiterated an assurance that no one will be allowed to use Afghanistan’s soil to target other countries.
Muttaqi’s remarks at a news conference with a small group of Indian journalists were aimed at pushing the Taliban’s pitch for formal recognition of its regime in Kabul – which has so far been accepted only by Russia – and at addressing India’s long-standing concerns about Afghan territory being used by terrorist groups to launch attacks.
While inviting Indian businesses and investors to explore opportunities in sectors such as connectivity, minerals, energy, and infrastructure, Muttaqi made it clear, in the context of US President Donald Trump’s recent demand to hand over the strategic Bagram airbase, that the Taliban will never accept any foreign military presence in Afghanistan.
“The foreign minister [S Jaishankar] said you can send diplomats to New Delhi now. When we go back, we will select people and send them,” Muttaqi said hours after his meeting with the external affairs minister, where the two sides decided to upgrade diplomatic ties.
“We will now send diplomats and gradually the contacts will increase,” he said, speaking in Urdu, in response to a question about the possible appointment of a Taliban envoy.
Relations between India and Afghanistan, he said, had gradually increased over the past four years. “This is my first visit to India and it was decided that India will upgrade its technical mission in Kabul to a diplomatic mission and our diplomats will come to New Delhi. Gradually, the goal is to take things to normal,” he said.
Muttaqi repeated an assurance he made at the meeting with Jaishankar – that Afghanistan is committed to a policy of not allowing its territory to be used to “threaten or harm others”. He dismissed a question about the presence of members of the Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashkar-e-Taiba in Afghanistan, saying “not even one is present”.
“Not even one inch of soil is controlled by anyone other than the Islamic Emirate. These groups and tanzeems are not present in Afghanistan, they have left Afghanistan in these four years. We finished those against whom we conducted operations,” he said.
Afghanistan has a “balanced and economic-centric policy” based on Islamic principles and precepts and seeks positive relations with all countries, Muttaqi said. “India has a good opportunity to engage on this positive trajectory and advance our relations just as we have managed to do so over the last four years and we hope this balanced policy will encourage others also to come forth,” he added.
Muttaqi was critical of Pakistan when he was asked about reports of explosions in Kabul on Thursday night, a development that triggered speculation that he might cut short his six-day trip to India. He blamed Pakistan for an attack in the border areas and said problems between the two countries cannot be “resolved by force”.
“Afghanistan is an independent country in this region and when peace has come there, why are others troubled? Afghan people too have rights…and the peace, benefits and progress of the last four years should be strengthened,” he said. Noting that Afghanistan can be an economic and transit hub for the region, he said: “Just as we want good relations with India, we want good ties with Pakistan. But these relations can only be built from both sides, it can’t be done by one side.”
Muttaqi, who plans to engage with Indian businesses and traders next week, invited Indian investments in transit, connectivity, minerals, energy and infrastructure. “I told [Jaishankar] that there are many advantages on our side. If anyone comes for investments in hospitals, electricity, mining and other areas, the conditions are the same for everyone and there will be no problems from us,” he said.
With India’s operations at Iran’s Chabahar port coming under a cloud following the revocation of a sanctions waiver by the Donald Trump administration, Muttaqi said Afghanistan and India should work together to “remove all problems and obstacles” related to the strategic facility. “Afghanistan and India should jointly talk with America and also talk between ourselves and derive the maximum benefits from this route,” he said.
Muttaqi also urged India and Pakistan to reopen the trade route through the Wagah land border crossing, which was closed by New Delhi in the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack.
“The Wagah route is the shortest for Afghanistan…Pakistan and India should not close this route because economic, human and trade issues should not be mixed with political issues,” he said.
Against the backdrop of Trump’s demands for handing over the strategic Bagram airbase, Muttaqi said: “Afghanistan’s history is witness that the Afghan people never accepted [any foreign] military. They do not accept them now and it is our decision that Afghanistan is a free and independent country and will remain so.
“If countries want ties with us, they can send diplomatic and economic missions, but those in military uniform are not acceptable to us.”
