Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai likely to be Afghanistan’s foreign minister has said that India-Pakistan should not drag their country in their internal conflict.
This is reiterating the stance that the Taliban want good relations with all their neighbours.
Stanikzai was speaking to CNN-News18 in an exclusive interview.
Asked about fears that Taliban may be hostile towards India or team up with Pakistan to target the country, Stanikzai said what comes up in the media is “often wrong”. “There is no such statement or indication from our side. We want good relations with all our neighbouring countries,” he said.
“We hope they do not use Afghanistan in their internal fight; they have a long border, they can fight amongst themselves on the border. They should not use Afghanistan for this and we will not let any country use our land for this,” he said.
In an earlier outreach to India, Taliban spokesperson Suhail Shaheen had said Taliban never had issues with India’s projects in Afghanistan but was opposing their support to the “puppet” government of Ashraf Ghani.
“About their (India’s) projects which are good for the people of Afghanistan and which contribute to the welfare of people of Afghanistan, if they are incomplete then they can complete it. What we were opposing was their siding with the former government.