The Union government has informed political parties that the evacuation of Indian personnel from Afghanistan is the top priority and also told them that the situation in Afghanistan is critical.
External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar, Union minister and Leader of the House in Rajya Sabha Piyush Goyal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi attended the briefing held in the Parliament House Annexe.
The ministers told the meeting that the government was working to evacuate as many people as possible from Afghanistan. The government also added that the Taliban have gone back on their promises made in the Doha agreement.
The Doha pact was signed between the Taliban leaders and the United States in February 2020 and it envisaged religious freedom and democracy, with a government in Kabul representative of all sections of the Afghan society.
The briefing was attended by NCP leader Sharad Pawar, Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge, Leader of Congress party in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, DMK’s TR Baalu, former prime minister HD Deve Gowda and Apna Dal’s Anupriya Patel among others.
Indian Ambassador to Afghanistan Rudrendra Tandon and Foreign Secretary Harsh Shringla also attended the all-party meet.