The US and India will continue to work closely on Afghanistan and the United Nations, the US State Department said in a statement after a meeting between Secretary of State Antony J Blinken and Foreign Minister S Jaishankar.
“Secretary of State Antony J Blinken spoke today (Saturday) with Indian External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar. They discussed a broad range of shared priorities, including continued coordination on Afghanistan and in the United Nations. Secretary Blinken and Minister Jaishankar agreed to remain closely coordinated on shared goals and priorities to deepen the US-India partnership,” State Department spokesperson Ned Price said in a statement.
Blinken discussed the current situation in Afghanistan with his Indian counterpart External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Saturday.
“Spoke with Indian External Affairs Minister @DrSJaishankar today to discuss our shared priorities including continued coordination on Afghanistan and in the United Nations. Look forward to continuing to deepen our partnership,” Blinken tweeted.
Pakistan had birthed Taliban in an attempt to counter India, a former Afghan envoy has said citing former Pakistan president General Pervez Musharraf.
Mahmoud Saikal, former Deputy Foreign Minister of Afghanistan and Ambassador to the UN and Australia on Saturday tweeted, “According to @P_Musharraf, Pakistan gave birth to the Taliban to counter Indian action against it. @ImranKhanPTI believes the Taliban have broken the shackles of slavery. @SMQureshiPTI & @YusufMoeed are currently busy lobbying the world to engage with the Taliban.”
“Only a policy of pressure/sanction and condition-based rapprochement with Pakistan can bring real positive change in Afghanistan and maintain international peace and security,” the former Afghan envoy said in a subsequent tweet.
Meanwhile, two days after twin suicide blasts, a suspected Kabul witnessed a rocket blast on Sunday hours after US President Joe Biden warned of another terror attack added to frayed nerves in the capital as a massive airlift of tens of thousands of Afghans entered its last days.
More than 100 people died in the attack, including 13 US service personnel, slowing down the airlift ahead of Biden’s deadline for evacuations to end by Tuesday.
