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India examining various options in Afghanistan
With the Northern Alliance taking hold of Kabul and making significant advances in other parts of Afghanistan, India on Friday said that it was examining various options including re-opening of its embassy in Kabul closed in 1992 even as it cautioned the international community against taking any hasty step in that country.
With the Northern Alliance taking hold of Kabul and making significant advances in other parts of Afghanistan, India on Friday said that it was examining various options including re-opening of its embassy in Kabul closed in 1992 even as it cautioned the international community against taking any hasty step in that country.
Asked whether India was considering any proposal to open its embassy in Kabul, an external affairs ministry spokesperson said, “We are looking at various options but no concrete decision has been taken in this regard.”
“India is participating in a meeting of the group of 21 in New York to discuss various options relating to the evolving situation in Afghanistan. Government's special envoy on Afghanistan S K Lambah will represent India,” she said.
Besides the G-8 and five Central Asian countries, the grouping also includes, India, China, Pakistan, Iran, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Turkey.
The group, which is wider than the six plus two grouping (comprising six neighbouring countries of Afghanistan and the US and Russia), will focus on the political and humanitarian aspects of the situation in Afghanistan, she said. “The fact that it is meeting at this juncture is an important development,” she said.
On the post-Taliban dispensation in Afghanistan, she said, “We (international community) have to proceed with caution and a great deal of deliberations. This is not the time for hasty movement and trigger happy reaction. One has to take into account the views of the Afghan people.
The group, which is wider than the six plus two grouping (comprising six neighbouring countries of Afghanistan and the US and Russia), will focus on the political and humanitarian aspects of the situation in Afghanistan, she said. “The fact that it is meeting at this juncture is an important development,” she said.
On the post-Taliban dispensation in Afghanistan, she said, “We (international community) have to proceed with caution and a great deal of deliberations. This is not the time for hasty movement and trigger happy reaction. One has to take into account the views of the Afghan people.
Bureau Report