India should work with major regional powers to ensure peace in Afghanistan: CPI(M), CPI

The CPI(M) and CPI on Wednesday urged the Narendra Modi government to work closely with "major regional powers" to see that Afghanistan remains "peaceful and stable" while accusing it of "blindly following" the United States, resulting in "isolation in the region".

In a joint statement, both the parties said the United States has suffered a "humiliating defeat" in Afghanistan, as 20 years after the toppling of the then Taliban regime, the Taliban are back in power.

"The collapse of the Ashraf Ghani led government and the National Army shows the hollowness of the nature of the State set up by the US and its NATO allies. The Afghan policy of the Indian government had been blindly following the Americans and this had resulted in its isolation in the region and is hence left with few options," it said.

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"India must work closely with major regional powers to see that the Afghan people are able to live in a peaceful and stable environment. The Indian government should immediately work towards the safe evacuation of all stranded Indian citizens in Afghanistan," the statement added.

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The statement reminded that the earlier Taliban government of the 1990s was marked by an "extreme fundamentalist approach, which was disastrous for women, girl children and suppressed ethnic minorities" and said, "it is imperative that the new set-up controlled by the Taliban give due regard to the rights of women and acknowledge the rights of ethnic minorities".

The international community’s concern that Afghanistan should not become a haven for terrorist groups like the Islamic State and al-Qaeda was collectively expressed by the United Nations Security Council in its emergency meeting on Afghanistan on August 16, it said.