NEW DELHI: India does n’t feel too happy with a statement expiring from Russia at the end of Moscow Format Consultations on Afghanistan that says that practical engagement with Afghanistan will have to take into account the new reality in the country — that is, the new administration run by the Pakistan- backed Taliban The Moscow Format Consultations took place in the Russian capital on Wednesday and brought together special representatives or elderly officers from Russia, China, Pakistan, Iran, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. There was also a high- position delegation from the interim Afghan government headed by Deputy Prime Minister Mawlawi Abdul Salam Hanafi.
The main cause of New Delhi’s apprehension has been the line in the statement that says that “ further practical engagement with Afghanistan demanded to take into account the new reality, that’s the Taliban coming to power in the country, irrespective of the sanctioned recognition of the new Afghan government by the transnational community This could mean that the “ new reality”of Afghanistan would need to be kept in mind indeed for transferring food aid for the people of the country The Moscow statement also called on the Taliban government in Afghanistan “ to take farther way to ameliorate governance and to form a truly inclusive government”that reflected the “ interests of all major ethno-political forces in the country.”
“ The sharing countries were pleased to note the reaffirmation by the interim Afghan government of its former commitments to help use of the Afghan home against its neighbours, other countries in the region and the rest of the world,”it said For now India, which was represented at the addresses byJ.P. Singh, who heads the Pakistan-Afghanistan-Iran office and Adarsh Swaika, common clerk, in charge of Eurasia in the Indian foreign ministry, is keeping its disquiet to itself, Mint has learnt.
India, which considers Russia a special friend, would n’t like to intimately disconnect itself from or be critical of a statement that has been put out after the meeting hosted by Moscow. New Delhi has also been keen to insure it’s part of groupings that has a say in the future of Afghanistan. There’s also a question mark over whether the statement was a common one — put out after a agreement reached among all attending countries or it was the host’s summary of the proceedings New Delhi has also not denied reports quoting a elderly Taliban leader saying that India was ready to shoot food aid to Afghanistan. This had come after the Indian delegation at the Moscow addresses met with the Taliban platoon on Wednesday.
A elderly UN World Food Programme (WFP) functionary had before said that the association was in contact with New Delhi over the issue of food aid to Afghanistan This discussion has been going on for a couple of weeks now. So hopefully we can bring that to a good conclusion and hopefully would see another donation coming in because again as I said, there is a wheat deficiency of2.5 million tonnes this time in Afghanistan. So, really we need all the help we can get,” representative and Country Director of WFP Afghanistan Mary-Ellen McGroarty had said.
According to a September 2021 WFP report, only 5 Afghan families had enough to eat every day, while half reported they had run out of food altogether at least formerly in September For the first time, civic residers are suffering from food instability at analogous rates to pastoral communities, which have been destroyed by failure doubly in the once three times,”it said.
“ Due to the combined goods of severance, a drop in the value of the original currency and a rise in prices — cooking canvas has nearly doubled in price since 2020, and wheat is over by 28 — only 10 of families headed by someone with a secondary or university education can go sufficient food,”it had said.
