"Are Taliban terrorists or not": Omar Abdullah on India-Afghanistan talks
Jammu, Sep 1: A day after India officially talked to the Taliban, former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah on Wednesday asked the Union government to clarify whether or not it considered the outfit a terror organisation.
"Either Taliban is a terror organisation or it is not. Please clarify to us how you (GoI) see the Taliban," the National Conference vice president told reporters after an Indian representative in Doha met a Taliban leader on Tuesday.
This was the first officially acknowledged meeting when Indian Ambassador to Qatar Deepak Mittal met senior Taliban leader Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanekzai and conveyed India's concerns that Afghanistan's soil should not be used for anti-Indian activities and terrorism.
"Is the Taliban a terrorist organisation and if it is not, will you move to the United Nations to delist it as a terror organisation. Right now, you (India) are presiding over the UN Security Council," Abdullah, who has been a Minister of State for External Affairs during Vajpayee's tenure, said.
Citing media reports, he questioned that if the Taliban is a terror outfit then why is the government engaging with it in Qatar.
"They are engaging Taliban. It is in today's news that you are talking to each other in Qatar. If you are talking to them, why are you asking this question to me," he said.
He was replying to a question whether India should engage with the Taliban and give it a chance.
"Either the Taliban is a terror organisation or it is not. Please clarify how you (GoI) see the Taliban," the NC vice-president asked the Union government.
He further asked how does one distinguish the Taliban from other terrorist outfits. "If it is not a terrorist organisation, please move in the UN to remove it from the list of terror organisations. Let its bank accounts start functioning, let us not treat them differently," Abdullah said.
The former chief minister said there should not be different yardsticks for different terror organisations.
"If they are a terror organisation, why are you (GoI) talking to them? If they are not a terror organisation, why are you banning their bank accounts. Why are you not recognizing their government? Make up your mind," he said.
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BJP accuses AAP of circulating 'edited' videos to malign Swati Maliwal
New Delhi (PTI): The Delhi BJP Saturday accused AAP leaders of circulating "edited" videos to tarnish the image of their own party MP Swati Maliwal, who has accused an aide of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal of assaulting her.
It is regrettable that "edited" videos are being circulated on social media groups since Friday in an attempt to "defame" Maliwal who is a member of the Aam Aadmi Party, Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva claimed.
Earlier in the day, the Delhi Police arrested Kejriwal's aide Bibhav Kumar who has been accused by Maliwal of assaulting her at the CM's residence on Monday.
A couple of videos from the chief minister's residence from the day of the incident have surfaced on social media, one showed Maliwal having an argument with security personnel, while the other showed her walking out of the CM's residence in the Civil Lines.
"Now that the entire Aam Aadmi Party is tarnishing the image of Swati Maliwal, it's time Kejriwal comes forward and speaks on the matter," Sachdeva said.
The AAP has accused Maliwal of lying and becoming a part of the BJP conspiracy to frame Kejriwal in a fake case in the midst of elections.
Sachdeva said now that Kejriwal's aide has been arrested by police, many "dirty pages" of AAP's politics will become public.
If the AAP is trying to implicate Maliwal by circulating "edited" videos, it would be better for the Delhi Police to immediately take possession of the complete CCTV footage of the chief minister's residence, Sachdeva said.
He charged that Maliwal is not the first woman leader of the AAP that the party has has defamed.
Earlier, they also raised questions about Kiran Bedi, Shazia Ilmi and Richa Pandey who have all left the AAP, Sachdeva added.
