France says it's on same page with India on terror threats emanating from Afghanistan, Taliban has not delivered on promises
Sep 28, 2021
New Delhi [India] September 28 : France has said it is on the same page with India on the issues pertaining to Afghanistan including potential terror threats emanating from the region.
In an exclusive interview with ANI, France's envoy to India Emmanuel Lenain said that the Taliban has so far met no conditions set by the international community and "we are going to be pretty stringent".
He said France wants an inclusive government and that the Afghanistan territory should not be used as a shelter for terrorists, training camps or and export terrorism.
"We are on the same page with India on the conditions which we have been set for Afghanistan. We want unfettered humanitarian access, we want all those who want to leave will be able to do so, we want respect for human rights, right of women to education. We want inclusive government and that the country is not used as a shelter for terrorists, training camps or and export terrorism. We had the same assessment. Taliban has not delivered on any of these demands of international communities, we are going to be pretty stringent," he said.
During Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the United States last week, India discussed Pakistan's role in Afghanistan and the need for careful monitoring.
During a meeting between US Vice President Kamala Harris and PM Modi, Harris suo moto referred to Pakistan's role in this regard. She said that there were terror groups working there. She asked Pakistan to take action so that these terror groups do not impact the security of the US and of India.
India in its several multilateral and bilateral engagements has been saying that Afghan territory should not be used for terrorism against India.
India has also been consistently emphasising that UN resolution 2593 should be the driving policy of the international community.
The envoy said that France and India are closely coordinating on the issues related to Afghanistan and the cooperation between the two countries is "intense from the beginning".
"You may have seen the first flight of evacuation (from Afghanistan) manned by France included 31 of your elite Gurkha soldiers who were protecting our embassy. And in the Security Council, it's been very intense cooperation during your presidency of the council. Quite some major achievements done," he said.
The envoy also said that the acceptability of the Taliban will depend on whether they meet conditions set by the international community and so far they have not moved in the right direction at all.
