New Delhi: Commenting on the tensions in Afghanistan, US Secretary of State Antony J Blinken on Wednesday, passed a remark that atrocities carried out by the Taliban in the country are deeply troubling. Blinken is on a two-day visit to India for holding bilateral talks.
Addressing a joint media briefing with External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar following the India-US ministerial talk, US Secretary Blinken said, “The Taliban is making advances in district centres, there are reports of them committing atrocities in Afghanistan. It’s deeply troubling. It certainly doesn’t speak well about their intention for the country". He reiterated that taking over the country by force and abusing the rights of the people is not the path to achieve those objectives. “There is only one path and that is at the negotiations to resolve the conflict peacefully”, he added.
Further, in response to a media query on the crisis in Afghanistan and the US troops withdrawal, Blinken said, “Even as we withdraw our forces from Afghanistan, we remain engaged in Afghanistan. We have not only a strong embassy there but also have important programmes that support the country economically through development and security assistance”. Blinken said, “We are very much engaged in the diplomacy of working to bring parties together at the table for the resolution of the conflict in Afghanistan”. Ultimately it has to be an Afghan-led and Afghan-owned peace process, he said, adding that he and Jaishankar during the talks agreed strongly that any future government in Afghanistan has to be inclusive and fully representative of Afghan people.
Blinken during meeting with Jaishankar discussed the entire gamut of India-US bilateral ties and agreed to work closely on multilateral and global issues. Earlier today, US Secretary of State Blinken held talks with National Security Advisor Ajit Doval on a range of bilateral and regional issues including the situation in Afghanistan. Blinken also met with several civil society leaders and discussed a range of regional issues including farmer protests, freedom of the press, inter-religious relations.
Later, taking to Twitter, Blinken said that U.S. and India share a commitment to democratic values and it is part of the bedrock of the relationship and reflective of India’s pluralistic society. “I was pleased to meet civil society leaders today. The United States and India share a commitment to democratic values; this is part of the bedrock of our relationship and reflective of India’s pluralistic society and history of harmony. Civil society helps advance these values”, he tweeted.
Blinken arrived in New Delhi on Tuesday evening with a prime focus on the expansion of the India-US partnership, and other agendas featuring the security situation in Afghanistan, boosting Quad and ways to enhance COVID-19 response efforts among others.
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