Friendship with Afghan people matters to India; EAM tells leaders of all parties
A Akhter / NEW DELHI
External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar has said that the government and all the opposition parties have a very similar view on Afghanistan. He said, all parties have a strong national position on Afghanistan.
Speaking to media after briefing leaders of different political parties in New Delhi today, Dr Jaishankar said, the friendship with Afghan people matters to India.
Dr Jaishankar said that India’s strong friendship with the people of Afghanistan is reflected in the more than 500 projects India is undertaking there. He said, situation in Afghanistan remains critical and India’s immediate concern and task is evacuation and long term interest is friendship for the Afghan people.
According to sources during the meeting the External Affairs Minister highlighted India’s priorities in the current circumstances. He briefed the leaders about evacuation of Indian nationals, safety of diplomatic personnel and assistance to Afghan nationals in distress.
Talking to media after the meeting, senior Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge said, this is entire country’s problem and stressed the need to work together for interests of people and nation. He added that during the meeting all parties have taken the same view.
Former Prime Minister and JD (S) leader H.D. Deve Gowda, NCP Chief Sharad Pawar, Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, TMC MP, Saugata Roy, DMK leader T.R. Ballu, BJD’s Prasanna Acharya and others attended the meeting.
Union Ministers Pralhad Joshi, Piyush Goyal, V. Muraleedharan, Meenakshi Lekhi, Arjun Ram Meghwal among others were also present in the meeting.