Ever since the Taliban began its blitzkrieg that culminated in the fall of Kabul on August 15, there has been much speculation on the future roles of the outfit's leaders.
One such leader, who has been in the spotlight, has been Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai, who is considered a candidate to be the next foreign minister. A former soldier, who once trained at the Indian Military Academy, Stanikzai had become noted for his role as a main negotiator of the Taliban at the group's office in Doha.
On Monday, News 18 published an interview of Stanikzai in which he expressed optimism about the future of ties with India under a Taliban dispensation.
Stanikzai told News 18 "We will have friendly relations with America after this and NATO. So, I think they should come back and take part in the rehabilitation of Afghanistan. Same goes for India. We want to continue friendly cultural and economic relations with them."
Dismissing fears that Afghanistan could become a sanctuary for terror groups inimical to India, Stanikzai said, "There was no threat from Afghanistan to any of our neighbours, including India throughout our history and it will not happen at all."
Stanikzai told News 18 that Pakistan would not be allowed to use Afghanistan for its dispute with India. Stanikzai said, "There is no doubt that there is a long political and geographical dispute between India and Pakistan. We hope they do not use Afghanistan in their internal fight, they have a long border, they can fight amongst themselves on the border. They should not use Afghanistan for this and we will not let any country use our land for this."
Stanikzai told News 18 that there was "no requirement" for India to evacuate Hindus and Sikhs. Stanikzai said, "Afghanistan is their homeland and country so they can live peacefully and there will be no harm to their lives. They can live as they were living before. We hope that Hindus and Sikhs who were in Afghanistan and had migrated to India in the last 20 years would come back soon."
Stanikzai hoped India would complete its pending development works in Afghanistan. Stanikzai declared, "We invite India to come and start again and complete those projects." He also promised security for such projects.