Is Modi govt in touch with Taliban? Here’s foreign minister’s reply

News Network

August 19, 2021

New Delhi, Aug 19: India is following the events in Afghanistan "very carefully" and the focus is on ensuring the security and safe return of Indian nationals who are still in the war-torn country, Foreign Minister Dr S Jaishankar told reporters in New York on Wednesday.

Asked how Narendra Modi-led government of India views and deals with the Taliban leadership, he said it is still "early days", not offering direct comment on whether or not India was in touch with the Taliban.

"At this point of time, we are looking at the evolving situation in Kabul... as Taliban and its representatives have come to Kabul and I think we need to take it from there," he added when asked whether India has had any communication with Taliban in the recent days.

Asked whether India will continue its investments and engagement in Afghanistan, the minister said the "historical relationship with the Afghan people" continues. "

That will guide our approach in the coming days. I think at this time, these are early days and our focus on safety and security of the Indian nationals who are there," he added.

Addressing reporters after a meeting of the UN Security Council, Dr Jaishankar said the situation in Afghanistan is "really what has been very much the focus of my own engagements here, talking to the UN Secretary General and other colleagues who are here as well as the US Secretary of State."

"At the moment we are, like everybody else, very carefully following developments in Afghanistan. I think our focus is on ensuring the security in Afghanistan and the safe return of Indian nationals who are there," he said.

India has assured that it would repatriate Hindu and Sikhs from Afghanistan. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also said that the country will stand by its friends and allies in the war torn country, which many are desperate to leave.

On Tuesday, India evacuated the last of its staff from the embassy in Kabul including the ambassador and the Indo-Tibetan Border Policepersonnel who were in charge of security. The pullout took place amid curfew declared by Taliban, which made took over Kabul on Sunday.

Dr Jaishankar had reached New York on Monday for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council on the situation in Afghanistan. India - a non-permanent member of the Security Council - holds its Presidency for this month.

This was the second time in 10 days that the UN body met to discuss the situation in the war-torn country.

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Level of human costs of Israeli aggression on Lebanon ‘alarming’, warns UN

News Network

November 12,2024

The UN humanitarian coordinator for Lebanon has warned that the “picture of life in Lebanon remains grim,” highlighting an "alarming" level of human suffering and significant humanitarian consequences due to the ongoing Israeli carnage.

Imran Riza, the UN Deputy Special Coordinator and Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Lebanon (UNSCOL), provided a stark overview of the Arab country's dire circumstances in a statement released on Monday.

“The current picture of life in Lebanon remains grim. Yesterday, airstrikes reportedly killed 23 people, including seven children, in the village of Aalmat in Mount Lebanon,” Riza said on X.

An airstrike in the city of Tyre on the same day resulted in the tragic deaths of five siblings from a single family, all of whom had special needs, according to his statement.

He added that in the last week, Israeli airstrikes have killed at least 241 individuals and left 642 others injured in Lebanon, as reported by the Ministry of Health.

“In the past month, more than 185,000 people have fled their homes in their search for safety within the country, bringing the total to over 870,000 people internally displaced,” Riza said

The UN official highlighted that numerous individuals, including the elderly and those with health issues, are staying behind while witnessing the ruins of their ancestral homes.

He urged for the swift safeguarding of civilian people and infrastructure, emphasizing the necessity to uphold international humanitarian law and end the ongoing violence.

Lebanon’s National News Agency reported that Israeli forces bombed a house in the town of Maydoun in Bekaa on Monday night, killing three people and destroying the house.

Earlier, Israel bombed the northern town of Ain Yaaqoub, killing at least 14 people.

The killings came as Israeli military continued to pound Lebanon, bombing shops selling electrical appliances in the southern city of Tyre and carrying out air raids on the towns of Shamshtar in eastern Baalbek and Roumine in southern Nabatieh.

Lebanon’s Ministry of Health said Israeli attacks killed at least 54 people across the country on Monday.

Israel’s merciless attacks continue despite calls from the UN Security Council for an immediate ceasefire and directives from the International Court of Justice urging measures to prevent genocide and alleviate the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza and Lebanon.

In Lebanon, at least 3,243 people have been killed and 14,134 others wounded in Israeli attacks since the war on Gaza began on October 7, 2023.

The Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah opened a support front for Palestinians in Gaza only a day after the Israeli regime unleashed its genocidal war on the besieged territory.

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