Govt to brief all parties on Afghanistan situation on Thursday

NEW DELHI: The government will brief all political parties on the

Afghanistan

situation on Thursday, after PM Narendra Modi asked the ministry of external affairs to reach out to leaders of parties.

In a tweet, foreign minister S Jaishankar said, “In view of developments in Afghanistan, PM @narendramodi has instructed that MEA brief floor Leaders of political parties. Minister of

Parliamentary Affairs

Prahlad Joshi will be intimating further details.” Joshi later said the time had been fixed for 11 am on Thursday, and the discussions will be with the parliamentary leaders of all the parties.

Official sources said the briefing is expected to focus on India’s evacuation missions from

Kabul

— how many Indians have been ferried to safety and how many are still to be brought back.

Party leaders will be keen to understand the government’s assessment of the situation in Afghanistan and India’s options and policies as regard the Taliban. The government will also brief the leaders on India’s visa policy for Afghans who feel threatened or persecuted in a Taliban-run Afghanistan. The parliamentary leaders will also get a sense of how the government sees the unfolding events in Afghanistan. Among the questions the government can expect is whether India needed to close its mission in Kabul last week or should it have waited longer.

The other questions for the government could include whether and when would India recognise the Taliban as the legitimate government; whether India intended to support the

National Resistance Front

which has holed itself in Panjshir; an assessment of whether Pakistan and China would use their contacts with the Taliban to constrict India’s space in the region.