Taliban's existence not possible without support of countries in the region, says Afghan envoy to India Farid 

Without taking any names, Afghan envoyFaridMamundzayhas said'without the support of the countries in the region', the Taliban's'existence may have not been possible'. Pakistan's support for the Taliban has been well-known, and the envoy's comments come even as the group is making rapid territorial gains.

Speaking to WION diplomatic correspondent Sidhant Sibal,FaridMamundzaycalled India'very critical'forhis countryeven as he highlighted that the Indian mission's "services remainuninterruptedand as open and activeas it should have been'in the country. India hasshiftedits diplomats from the southern city of Kandaharto Kabulas violence escalates.

Sidhant Sibal:What isthe security situation in your country?

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FaridMamundzay:There is an intense fight going on in several provinces, many districts asmuch as150. The attacks came as a surprise when the Taliban had attacked several of our districts at a time when we were busy with the withdrawal of the international forces. Sadly,we lost a number of districts. The past few days have been good in terms of recapturing, retaking some of those districts back. We have been able to recapture 10 plus districts in the past 3-4 days. There have been gains on their part as well, there have been gains or regains our part.We were not as prepared as we should have been, we were thinking the Taliban will give peace a chance. They would believe in a process that will put an end to the violence. Sadly,and contrary to what our beliefs were, they chose the path of the violence and continued to inflict harm and continue with the bloodshed of the innocents.

Sidhant Sibal:How far are external forces, particularly,one of yourneighbours,responsible for the current situation?

FaridMamundzay:If you look at the number of Taliban supporters in terms of terrorist entities, terrorist groups that help them, you will be amazed to see 20 plus terrorist groups supporting the Taliban and of course,without the support of the countries in the region their existence may have not been possible. They would have not been in a position today if they were no support infrastructure. So yes, support infrastructure has been there to which wehave beenraisingconcernstime andagainfor the past 20 years.

Sidhant Sibal: Has India taken back its diplomats from Kandahar?

FaridMamundzay:We were concerned about the safety and security of diplomats across our country and we respect the decision of the Indian government to temporarily suspend services in Kandahar and Herat. We support their decisionand ensuresecurity of the diplomatic mission of important countries. India is veryimportant forus. We want theirmissions across the countryaspeople want it but given the security realities in the country,we think it is in everyone's interest to suspend the services for time being. As thingsnormalisein the future, we will see the reopening of the consulates. What is important is the services provided by the Indian mission in Afghanistan.These services remain uninterrupted and as open and activeas itshould have been.Afghanpatients seek medical treatment in India.They stillgoon a regular basis.Our Hindu and Sikh Afghan communityalso visit.So,the servicesshouldremain uninterrupted. Yes, they may have not been serving a particular province, or particular region but the presence of Indian diplomatic consular and economic service and assistance is there that is what the government and people of Afghanistan want.

Sidhant Sibal: What next for Afghanistan? How do you see the situation panning out?

FaridMamundzay:Sadly,we would be seeingmore difficult days as things stand today, we don't see any reduction or cessation of violence on part of the Taliban, they have chosen a path that will continue to bleed our people. The nexttwomonths are very difficult months as the international forces would complete their full withdrawal. Ideally, we would want peace to be given a chance but that seems to be a distant reality at this stage.