Centre calls all-party meet on Afghanistan crisis on Thursday, S Jaishankar to brief floor leaders
The leaders are expected to discuss evacuation missions that have been carried out intensively since last week.
Centre on Monday scheduled an all-party meeting for August 26 to discuss the situation in Afghanistan.
Union Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Pralhad Joshi said that External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will brief the floor leaders of political parties, according to ANI.
In view of developments in Afghanistan, PM @narendramodi has instructed that MEA brief Floor Leaders of political parties.
— Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) August 23, 2021
Minister of Parliamentary Affairs @JoshiPralhad will be intimating further details.
Floor Leaders of Political Parties would be briefed by EAM @DrSJaishankar on the present situation in Afghanistan, on 26th August, 11am in Main Committee Room, PHA, New Delhi. Invites are being sent through email. All concerned are requested to attend. https://t.co/iBX9NRd0qq
— Pralhad Joshi (@JoshiPralhad) August 23, 2021
India’s evacuation mission will be the primary topic of the discussion along with general overview of the situation, according to India Today.
The Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan as it captured the country’s capital, Kabul, on August 15. Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani fled the country to UAE, which accepted him on humanitarian grounds.
The Taliban had made rapid advances in the country, taking control of key cities amid a withdrawal of foreign troops from Afghanistan. Several countries, including India, had started evacuating their citizens from Afghanistan amid a scramble to leave the country hit by a political crisis. But many are still stuck.
Over the last week, India has expedited the evacuation process.
An Indian Air Force repatriation flight on Sunday evacuated 168 passengers, including 107 Indians. The flight, which was also carrying two Afghan senators and 24 Afghan Sikhs, landed at the Hindon air base in Ghaziabad.
Three other flights belonging to Air India, IndiGo and Vistara, carrying Indians citizens, left Kabul and landed in Dushanbe in Tajikistan and Qatar’s Doha. The flight from Tajikistan, carrying 87 Indians and two Nepali citizens, arrived in Delhi on Sunday morning.
On Monday, India brought back the 146 nationals who were waiting in Doha after their flight took off from Afghanistan on Sunday, The Hindu reported.
Indian Muslims must reject Taliban, say 150 signatories
Citizens’ forum Indian Muslims for Secular Democracy on Monday said that members of the community in India should reject the Taliban.
The statement had 150 signatories, including lawyers of the Supreme Court and the High Court, former MPs and MLAs, writers, social and political activists.
“It is one thing to welcome the ouster of the occupiers and the overthrow of their puppets, quite another to celebrate the return to power of those who with their barbaric version of Islam have contributed in no small measure to the demonisation of Muslims and their faith across the globe”, the statement noted.
