"Working With Allies Like India": UK Minister To NDTV On Afghan Situation

It is the UK's key priority now to ensure Afghanistan doesn't become a hotbed of terrorism, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Elizabeth Truss told NDTV in an interview as she asserted that the UK doesn't condone terrorism anywhere.

Ms Truss evaded a direct reply when asked if the withdrawal of US and UK troops from Afghanistan after the Taliban takeover should have been done more carefully. "We are where we are, and my key priority now is to make sure that Afghanistan doesn't become a hotbed for terrorism and that it remains stable and doesn't turn into a humanitarian crisis. So I am working with friends and allies, including India, to make sure that is the case in Afghanistan," she said.

The Afghan government collapsed after the US and its allies withdrew their troops two decades after they ousted the Taliban in the wake of the 9/11 attacks by al-Qaeda terrorists, who had found a safe haven in Afghanistan. The UK, like the US, has been criticised for failing to predict how quickly the Afghan government would fall.

Asked what is the UK's stand on terrorism emanating from Pakistan, especially against the backdrop of the recent attacks in Kashmir, Ms Truss replied, "I don't condone terrorism anywhere."

Ms Truss spoke to NDTV on the deck of UK aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth off the Mumbai coast. The warship is at the helm of a Carrier Strike Group that is in Indian waters for a joint defence exercise.