India wants US to address concerns over Taliban talks

NEW DELHI: India has conveyed to the US that its concerns regarding the talks with the Afghan Taliban must be addressed, people familiar with developments said on Thursday as reports emerged of Taliban negotiators’ plans to meet American and Pakistani officials in Islamabad next week.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said on Wednesday the group’s negotiators will meet Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan and US officials in Islamabad on February 18 during a visit at the invitation of the Pakistan government.

The US special representative for Afghan reconciliation, Zalmay Khalilzad is expected to be in Islamabad next week as part of a six-nation tour that includes Qatar and Afghanistan. The meetings in Islamabad will be held ahead of the next round of Us-taliban talks in Doha on February 25, Mujahid said.

“We have conveyed our position to the US. Our concerns have to be addressed,” said an official who spoke on condition of anonymity. During a regular news briefing, external affairs ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said India is closely following developments related to reconciliation efforts in Afghanistan involving different stakeholders, and is also “in very regular contact with all other players, including Russia, Iran and Saudi Arabia”.“last week, our ambassador in the US had a meeting with Mr Khalilzad, where he was briefed on the US efforts in the region and we did agree that we will continue to maintain close contact with each other...” he said.