Australia expresses 'deep disappointment' over new Taliban govt

Australian Foreign Minister and Defence Minister are slated to visit New Delhi from September 10-12 to attend the 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue

New Delhi:Australian High Commissioner to India Barry O" Farrell on Thursday expressed 'deep disappointment' over the formation of the non-inclusive Taliban government in the war-ravaged Afghanistan.

Further, the Australian High Commissioner said that the situation in Afghanistan is likely to be discussed at the inaugural two-plus-two ministerial dialogue between India and Australia on Saturday.

The remark was made ahead of the visit of Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne and Defence Minister Peter Dutton to India on Friday to hold a '2+2' ministerial dialogue with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.

Taliban's announcement of a 33-member government, led by newly appointed Prime Minister Mohammad Mullah Hasan, whose name is on the UN's terror list, has taken the world by shock.

International community, except China and Pakistan, has expressed great displeasure over the formation of the new government.

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He also mentioned the inclusion of members of the Haqqani network who were in the UN-listed terrorists. The Australian High Commissioner, while addressing the media pointed out the exclusion of women and other representations from the Hazara community and other minorities in the newly formed Taliban government. "We are deeply disappointed", he added.

The Australian high commissioner expressed high expectations from India and said that Australia together with India can do much more.

Earlier, expressing concern over the situation in Afghanistan, Russian President Vladimir Putin said, "The withdrawal of US forces & its allies from Afghanistan has led to a new crisis, and it's still unclear how this will affect global & regional security. It is for good reason that our countries have paid special attention to this issue."

"Afghanistan should not become a threat to its neighbouring countries, a source of terrorism and drug trafficking", Putin added during the 13th BRICS summit.

On a similar note, India has reiterated its stance that Afghan soil should not be used for any anti-India or terrorist activities.

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On Wednesday, speaking at the Afghanistan conference co-convened by the USA and Germany, Dr S. Jaishankar said, "Regarding counter-terrorism, we are all clear that the use of Afghanistan’s soil to promote terrorism in any manner by any country is unacceptable.

"The Taliban has made public declarations to this effect. They must live up to their words. The international community must remain both responsive and united at a time of crisis," Jaishankar added.