External Affairs Minister Jaishankar holds talks with Qatari FM in Doha on Afghanistan developments
New Delhi, Aug 20: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Friday held talks with his Qatari counterpart Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani on the latest developments in Afghanistan as he stopped over in Qatar's capital Doha on his way back home from a four-day visit to the US.
Doha has been the venue for the intra-Afghan peace talks and Qatar has emerged as a crucial player in facilitating the Afghan peace process.
The Taliban's political leaders have been residing in the Gulf country for years.
"Met Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani @MBA_AlThani_DPM & FM Qatar during my stop over in Doha. Had useful exchange of views on Afghanistan," Jaishankar tweeted.
The talks came five days after Afghan capital Kabul fell to the Taliban after it swept across Afghanistan, seizing control of almost all key towns and cities in an over month-long offensive following the withdrawal of the US forces.
The Qatari foreign minister, who also holds the post of deputy prime minister, said the discussions included the recent developments in Afghanistan.
"Delighted to welcome again my colleague @DrSJaishankar, #India's Minister of External Affairs. Our discussion included ways of developing the historical relations between our two friendly nations, along with the recent developments in #Afghanistan," he said on Twitter.
On Tuesday, India completed the evacuation of all its diplomats and other staff members from Kabul under a difficult and complicated exercise, two days after the Taliban's takeover of the Afghan capital.
The mission to evacuate close to 200 people including the Indian envoy and other staffers in two military aircraft was accomplished with support from the US.
Meanwhile, unconfirmed reports said the Taliban has been carrying out door-to-door searches of several embassies in Kabul and had gone to the Indian mission complex as well.
Jaishankar had made two stopovers at Doha in June during his visit to Kenya and Kuwait.
Qatar had also hosted talks between the Taliban and the United States.
Earlier this month, Qatari special envoy for conflict resolution Mutlaq bin Majed Al-Qahtani visited India during which he met Jaishankar, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla and J P Singh, the Joint Secretary in the Pakistan-Afghanistan-Iran division in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).
Met Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani @MBA_AlThani_ DPM & FM Qatar during my stop over in Doha.
— Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) August 20, 2021
Had useful exchange of views on Afghanistan pic.twitter.com/dDoWTCp4zz
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LIVE | Election Results of five states 2026
New Delhi: The countdown has begun for the counting of votes for the Assembly elections in five states that have captured the attention of people across the country.
The counting of votes for the Assembly constituencies of West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Assam and the Union Territory of Puducherry will begin simultaneously at 8 am, and the fate of candidates in a total of 824 constituencies will be decided shortly.
The counting of postal ballots will take place first, followed by the counting of EVM votes in several rounds.
- BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari is leading in West Bengal’s Nandigram constituencyFive-state elections: Postal vote counting begins
- TMC, BJP lead in one seat each in West Bengal
- In Tamil Nadu, DMK leads in 3 constituencies, while TVK leads in 1
- UDF leads in 5 seats in Kerala, BJP in 1, LDF in 1
- BJP leads in 2 seats, AIUDF in 1 in Assam
- AINRC leads in 1 constituency in Puducherry
- TMC leads in 5 seats in West Bengal; Mamata Banerjee’s party maintains initial lead
- Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin leads in Kolathur
- BJP takes early lead in Assam
- Congress-led UDF leads in Kerala
- In Tamil Nadu, TVK chief Vijay leads in the Perambur constituency, lags in Tiruchirappalli South
- BJP leads in 10 seats in Assam
- LDF candidate V.P.P. Mustafa leads in the Thrikkaripur Assembly constituency
- Out of 294 seats in West Bengal, BJP is leading in 14 seats, TMC in 12 seats, Congress in 2 seats
- Out of 234 seats in Tamil Nadu, DMK is leading in 15 seats, AIADMK is leading in 5 seats, TVK is leading in 2 seats
- Out of 126 seats in Assam, BJP is leading in 31 seats, Congress in 4 seats, AIUDF in 2 seats.
- Out of 30 seats in Puducherry, NRC+ is leading in 3 seats, Congress in 2 seats, TVK in 1 seat.
- Congress’ Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury suffers a setback in theBerhampore constituency in West Bengal.
