Ground Report | New Delhi: India in touch with Taliban over kidnapped; India has been told that the Afghan Hindu who has been kidnapped in Kabul is actually an Indian. Indian Foreign Ministry spokesman Arindam Bagchi said on Thursday that India is verifying all information regarding the person.
Bagchi said, “We have been told that he is an Indian citizen. We are in touch with all concerned. We have seen reports that the local authorities are investigating the matter. We will continue to monitor the situation.”
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‘The Hindu’ writes in its report that the Taliban’s intelligence department investigated the matter on Wednesday with the help of CCTV footage. The newspaper writes that Bagchi’s statement indicates that India is indirectly in contact with the Taliban in Kabul and wants to ensure the safe return of the kidnapped man, Bansari Lal Arendh. Bagchi has described the matter as very ‘sensitive’.
India in touch with Taliban
India has not yet established its relations with the Taliban, although it has expressed its desire to continue development work for the Afghan people. Bansari Lal, who ran a prominent drugstore in Kabul, was abducted on Tuesday morning. It was learned that talks were on to free them.
After the Taliban took over Afghanistan on August 15, Afghanistan’s medical sector has almost come to a standstill and there is a shortage of basic medicines in hospitals. Arendh was living in Kabul and was not among the Afghan Hindu and Sikh citizens who requested to move to India or other countries.
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This matter has come to the fore when the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) meeting is going to be held on Friday morning. External Affairs Minister Jaishankar has reached Tajikistan’s capital Dushanbe to participate in it, while Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will virtually address this meeting. (India in touch with Taliban over kidnapped)
Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan has arrived in Dushanbe. It is understood that this meeting will focus on the humanitarian situation arising in Afghanistan.
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