Taliban assures it will not harm citizens or diplomats of India present in embassies

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• Aug 14, 2021 | moderator

Doha: In a meeting held in Doha by the Afghan militant group - Taliban, they assured that no harm will be meted out on the citizens of India presently staying inside the embassies or the diplomats in Afghanistan. The Indian delegation also participated in the meeting as there was no separate meeting with the country, a spokesperson of the insurgent's group said.

“There were reports about the Indian delegation meeting our delegation, but I can’t confirm that. According to my information, a (separate) meeting hasn’t happened but on Friday, we had a meeting in Doha, in which an Indian delegation also participated," Taliban spokesperson Muhammed Suhail Shaheen.

India declared that there would be no recognition of any military takeover of Afghanistan as it had recently joined Qatar and several other countries. According to Qatar, China and Pakistan said they won’t recognize any violent takeover in a separate meeting on August 10.

When the Taliban was asked to assure that ‘Afghan soil’ won’t be used against India, spokesperson of Taliban Shaheen said, “We have a general policy that we’re committed not to allow anyone to use Afghan soil against any country, including the neighboring countries."

India’s showpiece infrastructure project Salma dam, also known as India-Afghanistan Friendship Dam, in the Herat province, is going to be taken over by the Taliban, according to reports. Salma dam, inaugurated by President Ashraf Ghani and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2016.

“There is no danger from our side to embassies and diplomats. We won’t target any embassy or diplomat. We’ve said that in our statements many times. It is our commitment," the Taliban spokesperson said.

However, the commitment of the Taliban came up with a warning that, if India has their presence in Afghanistan then it will not be good for them. “They’ve seen the fate of military presence in Afghanistan of other countries, so it is an open book for them," Shaheen added.