India is clear that a political solution is the way out to resolve the present situation in Afghanistan and will “never accept any outcome which is decided by force”, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Thursday.
He made this assertion in the Rajya Sabha while elaborating upon his talks with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday. His reply came when asked about China backing the Taliban, which now controls a large part of Afghanistan.
A Taliban delegation led by chief political negotiator Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar met Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi on Wednesday. It was the first engagement between the two sides since the US began withdrawing its troops from Afghanistan.
Fielding questions amidst din in the house, Jaishankar said India is working with the world community to push political negotiations to find a lasting solution to the conflict in Afghanistan and will never accept any outcome decided through the use of force.
He said there was a very detailed discussion on the situation in Afghanistan with visiting US secretary of state and there is “a very strong convergence” in the positions of India and the US on this issue.
“We were very clear that there must be a negotiated political settlement in Afghanistan, that there cannot be a military solution, there cannot be a takeover by use of force in Afghanistan, that we will work with the international community to ensure that political negotiations for a settlement are pursued seriously and we would never accept any outcome which is decided by force,” he said.
Asked whether human rights and democracy had figured in his talks with Blinken, Jaishankar said the two sides had a “good discussion” on global issues such as human rights, democracy and trafficking.
Jaishankar said he had highlighted that India’s approach to such issues is guided by a “quest for a perfect union”, though the government also seeks to “right historical wrongs”.
This was an apparent reference to the enactment of laws such as the Citizenship (Amendment) Act. He had made a similar comment at his joint media interaction with Blinken on Wednesday.
Jaishankar said the issue of freedom should not be treated as “non-governance or as abdication of responsibilities”.
On forging closer ties under the Quad or Quadrilateral Security Dialogue or Quad, Jaishankar said, “Let me make it very clear that when it comes to our relations with the US, Quad [and] Indo-Pacific, these are all our national choices which serve our national interests.”
“We look at Quad as a platform where four countries have come together for the good of the world, who are discussing a range of issues from making and providing vaccines to education and connectivity to maritime security,” he said.
Quad grouping includes India, US, Japan and Australia. China has all along protested against this alliance and says it will lead to militarization of the Indo-Pacific region. The heads of Quad countries including Prime Minister Narendra Modi may hold a summit in September this year.