France to be 'especially careful' about Taliban's terror ties: President Macron

French President Emmanuel Macron on September 16, Thursday, said that France will be “especially careful” about the Taliban’s relationships with terrorist organisations. “This is for our safety,” Macron said while speaking at a joint news conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. The French President also noted the situation in Afghanistan and said that France and Germany would make efforts to support neighbouring countries that host Afghans. 

"Ensuring that people under threat in Afghanistan leave the country and that humanitarian aid is delivered to Afghanistan were also on the meeting's agenda," Macron informed.

Separately, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that the issue in the war-torn country is about the people who are under threat and the need to evacuate refugees. Macron and Merkel discussed how to extract remaining European citizens and Afghans under threat. They also underlined that they will work on how to support neighbouring nations hosting Afghan refugees. 

“We will of course also have to consider what the end of the NATO deployment in Afghanistan means for us and our future missions in connection with the fight against terrorism, and what lessons we draw from its unsuccessful end, if you look at the aims we had imagined,” Merkel said.

Aftermath of Taliban takeover 

Meanwhile, it has been over a month since the Taliban stormed into Kabul and took over the Afghan government. Following the Taliban's takeover on August 15, a terrorist attack at Kabul's Hamid Karzai International Airport on August 26 led to the death of several people. This includes the death of at least 169 Afghans, 11 US Marines, a US Navy sailor, and a US Army soldier. The USA retaliated to the attack by launching airstrikes on terrorists belonging to ISIS-K.

The situation in Afghanistan has been dominating the international agenda, with the international community trying to find ways to ensure stability and security in the war-ravaged nation. Though the Taliban promised to form an "inclusive" government to run Afghanistan, it announced a 33-member caretaker Cabinet which neither has women nor mainstream politicians from previous regimes. Countries including France, Japan, the USA and Canada have expressed that they were not planning to recognise the government formed by the Taliban.

(With inputs from ANI)