External affairs minister S Jaishankar on Monday said that India was monitoring developments with “understandable concern” in Afghanistan following its takeover by the Taliban.
Stating that the war-torn country was passing through a critical and challenging phase, Jaishankar said there was an imminent threat to rising poverty levels and that could have a catastrophic effect on regional stability.
Jaishankar, who spoke at the United Nations High-Level Meeting on the Humanitarian Situation in Afghanistan said, “There's been a sea change in its political, economic, social and security situation & consequently, in its humanitarian needs.”
The External Affairs Minister is slated to travel to Tajikistan later this week to participate in a key meeting on Afghanistan and hold talks with counterparts from several countries.