The deadline for the airlift operations from Kabul airport is August 31 (File)
The United Nations Security Council has dropped the Taliban reference from a paragraph in its statement on terrorist attacks near Kabul airport that called on Afghan groups not to support terrorists "operating on the territory of any other country".
India, which assumed the rotating Presidency of the United Nations Security Council for the month of August, signed off on the statement and issued it in its capacity as the chair for this month.
In an earlier statement on Afghanistan on August 16, a day after Kabul fell to the Taliban, the UN Security Council's position was starkly different when it warned that "neither the Taliban nor any other Afghan group or individual should support terrorists operating on the territory of any other country".
Syed Akbaruddin, India's permanent representative at the United Nations till April last year, pointed out the difference in the two statements and said "the 'T' word is gone".
On August 19 when asked how India views and deals with the Taliban leadership, Foreign Minister Dr S Jaishankar said it is still "early days", adding the focus is on safety and security of the Indian nationals who are in Afghanistan.
India on Friday said that the exact number of its citizens remaining in war-torn Afghanistan was unknown.
India has already evacuated its mission staff from Kabul. Last week, the Taliban entered at least two of India's consulates in Afghanistan, searched for documents and took away parked cars, government sources had said, expressing worry that it meant the group is acting against the assurances its leaders have been giving to the world.
US president Joe Biden has said he will stick by his deadline to withdraw all US troops from Afghanistan by August 31.
