Situation in Afghanistan still unfolding, hard to take very definitive position: Jaishankar

New Delhi: It is hard to take a "very definitive position" on Afghanistan as the situation there is still unfolding and there are "live issues" such as whether there will be an inclusive government in Kabul and whether Afghan soil will not be used for terrorism in other countries, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Friday.

In an interactive session at the India Today conclave, when referred to the spate of targeted killings in Kashmir and whether there could be an impact of the Afghan developments on India's internal situation, Jaishankar said he would not like to draw some connections with Afghanistan without any evidence.

About the possibility of resumption of dialogue with Pakistan, he said the prospect does not look good and asserted that there is no other situation in the world where a country actually runs "this kind of scale of terrorism" against the neighbours.

"...When do you see Pakistan becoming a normal country. And for me, a normal country is a country that does not sponsor terrorism against its neighbours. Right now the prospects do not look good," he said.

Asked about Islamabad's support to various terror groups operating from Afghan soil, the external affairs minister said the role of Pakistan in what happened in Afghanistan is not a secret and it is very public now.

On the growing perception that the Pakistan spy agency



succeeded in its design in Afghanistan and what happened in Kabul was a strategic setback for India, Jaishankar said New Delhi has to deal with whatever the situation is.

At the same time, he added that "sometimes, we all tend to make very sweeping sort of statements or judgements or assessments. I think the picture is a little more complex, more granular than that".

"It has been less than two months since the Taliban took Afghanistan and it is quite obvious that things are far from settled even in Kabul. I would urge some patience, some deliberations and some caution," he said.

To a question on whether India is adopting a wait and watch approach on engagement with the Taliban after Indian envoy to Qatar Deepak Mittal's meeting with Taliban leader Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanekzai in Doha in late August, Jaishankar did not give a direct reply and generally replied that he would prefer to make due diligence on issues of policy making.

He said there could be things happening which he may not be able to speak about and that India's primary contact has been in Doha. "That's where it is," he said.

On the overall situation, Jaishankar said it is still unfolding and India is responding to the evolving situation as it is hard to take a "very definitive position" beyond that because of lack of clarity.