As the maiden NSA-level Afghan meet in New Delhi concluded on Wednesday, Taliban spokesperson Suhail Shaheen said that he sees the dialogue as a positive development and hoped that it “contributes to the peace and stability” of Afghanistan.
Speaking to CNN-News18 on Wednesday, Shaheen said Afghanistan agrees with the key point of the NSA meet — the need for unhindered access to humanitarian assistance to Afghans.
“If they (NSAs) have said that they will work for the people of Afghanistan for the reconstruction, peace and stability of the country…that is our objective. The people of Afghanistan want peace and stability because they have suffered a lot in the last few years. Right now, we want the economic projects in the country to complete and new projects to start. We also want job opportunities for our people. So we agree with what has been said (at the NSA-level meeting),” he said.
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“Any move that contributes to the peace and stability of the country, provides job opportunities to the people and helps eradicate poverty in the country – at a time when 80 per cent people here are currently living below the poverty line – we support it,” he added.
At the meeting chaired by India’s National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval and his counterparts from Iran, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkemenistan and Tajikistan are at the attendance, both sides emphasised on the need for Afghanistan’s neighbours to ensure unhindered access to humanitarian assistance to the people of Afghanistan.
They also agreed that neighbouring states must play a constructive role in Afghanistan, while also highlighting the need for the long-term economic development of Afghanistan, sources said.
The NSAs reiterated strong support for a peaceful, secure and stable Afghanistan while emphasising the respect for sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity and non-interference in its internal affairs.
Shaheen appeared to agree with the discussion, saying the non-interference in internal affairs is something that is also mentioned in the Doha agreement between Washington and the Taliban in 2020.
“This is also written in the Doha Agreement that there should not be interference in the internal affair of Afghanistan. That is our policy and we are abiding by the Doha Agreement. We are ready to work with other countries to achieve that goal,” he said.
The countries part of the NSA summit also said Afghan territory should not be used for “sheltering, training, planning or financing any terrorist acts”.
To this, Shaheen said, “Yes, that is our commitment . We agreed in the Doha Agreement that we will not allow any individual, entity or group to use the soil of Afghanistan against another country. The Americans agreed to withdraw their troops. This is all a part of our agreement.”
“Yesterday I had a meeting with our interior minister Sirajuddin Haqqani and he reaffirmed that the commitment during the meeting. All of our senior leadership abides by that commitment,” he added.
How does Afghanistan view Pakistan’s absence from the conference that was attended by all Central Asian countries?
“It is up to the country to decide its position. You can ask them (about it). As far as the people and the government of Afghanistan is concerned, we want peace and stability and resumption of economic activities,” the Taliban spokesperson said.
Asked if Afghanistan would participate in such meetings in future if invited, Shaheen said, “Sure, they can share their agendas with our foreign ministry and other senior leaders. We will take a look at the agendas and if they share goals that are good for the people of Afghanistan and the region, of course we will participate.”
India had formally invited the NSAs of Russia, Iran, China, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan for the meeting. However, China and Pakistan had already said that they will not be attending the conference. No delegation from Afghanistan was invited.
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