INDIA PITCHES FOR CLOSER TALIBAN TIES

India has urged the United Nations and the international community to adopt a “pragmatic engagement” with the Taliban, stressing that relying only on punitive measures will allow the current situation in Afghanistan to persist.

- PTI

Speaking at the UN Security Council meeting on the Situation in Afghanistan on Wednesday, India's Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Parvathaneni Harish, said New Delhi supports “nuanced policy instruments” that can bring sustainable benefits to Afghans.

"India calls for a pragmatic engagement with the Taliban. A coherent policy of engagement should incentivise positive actions. A focus on only punitive measures will only ensure that a 'business as usual' approach continues as we have been seeing now for the last four and a half years," Harish said.