Will ensure Afghan soil not used for terror: MEA

India on Thursday said its immediate focus relating to Afghanistan is to ensure that Afghan soil is not used for terrorist activities against it, two days after the Indian envoy to Qatar held talks with a top Taliban leader in Doha and conveyed similar concerns.

To a volley of questions at a media briefing on whether India was ready to recognise a Taliban regime in the backdrop of the Doha meeting, spokesperson in the Ministry of External Affairs Arindam Bagchi said it is too early to talk about it. "Let's treat the Doha meeting for what it is. It was just a meeting. I think these are very early days," he said. "We used the opportunity to convey our concerns whether it is in getting people out (from Afghanistan) or on the issue of terrorism. We received a positive response," he said.

Asked about India's engagement with the Taliban and whether is it not a terrorist organisation, Bagchi said: "That's not our focus. Our focus is that Afghan soil should not be used for terrorist activities of any kind." On Tuesday, the MEA said Indian envoy to Qatar Deepak Mittal met Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanekzai, the head of the Taliban's Political Office in Doha, at the request of the group.

In the meeting, Mittal conveyed to Stanekzai that Afghanistan's soil should not be used for anti-indian activities and terrorism. It was the first publicly acknowledged formal diplomatic engagement that came two weeks after the Taliban seized control of Afghanistan.

When pressed further on whether India will have more meetings with the Taliban, Bagchi said he does not have any update to share and that he does want to speculate.