US didn't take India into confidence on many aspects of Doha deal: EAM Jaishankar reveals

Amid the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar revealed that India wasn't taken into confidence about many aspects of the Doha agreement. Also known as the 'Agreement for Bringing Peace to Afghanistan', it was signed by the terrorist group and the US on February 29, 2020. It focused on the complete withdrawal of foreign forces, the commitment of the Taliban to not allow any of its members or other terrorist groups to use the soil of Afghanistan against the US and its allies and the formation of a new government by an intra-Afghan dialogue.

In a discussion with former US Ambassador to India Frank Wisner at the annual leadership summit of the US India Strategic Partnership Forum on Thursday, Jaishankar remarked, "We will all be justified in having levels of concern (about the situation in Afghanistan). And to some degree, I think the jury is still out. When I say levels of concern, there were commitments which were made by the Taliban at Doha. The US knows that best. We were not taken into confidence in various aspects of that." 

"Are we going to see an inclusive government? Are we going to see respect for the rights of women, children, minorities? Most importantly, are we going to see an Afghanistan whose soil is not used for terrorism against other states? These are some concerns," he added. At the recently concluded SCO Summit, PM Modi asserted that the change in power in Afghanistan happened without negotiation and made it clear that the new Taliban government is not inclusive. 

The Taliban takeover of Afghanistan

After the Taliban stormed into Kabul on August 15, Afghanistan president Ashraf Ghani resigned and fled the country with his associates. Since then, several persons have lost their lives in the chaos at the Hamid Karzai International Airport with thousands of people desperately trying to flee the country. This includes the death of at least 169 Afghans, 11 US Marines, a US Navy sailor, and a US Army soldier in a suicide bombing at the Abbey Gate of the Kabul airport on August 26. This led to US airstrikes on terrorists belonging to ISIS-K which claimed responsibility for this attack.

On August 31, the Taliban gained control of the Kabul airport after the last batch of US troops left Afghanistan. Though the Taliban promised to form an "inclusive" government to run Afghanistan, it announced a caretaker Cabinet that neither has women nor mainstream politicians from previous regimes. While Mullah Mohammad Hassan Akhund, the chief of the Taliban's Rehbari Shura, is the new Prime Minister, he has two deputies in Mullah Baradar and Mawlavi Hanafi. So far, the terror outfit's rule has been marked by repression of women's rights, restrictions on media, economic crisis and atrocities on Panjshir residents.