India, US agree continued coordination on Afghanistan

Amid the fast unfolding situation in Afghanistan, Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and US Secretary of state Antony Blinken discussed over the phone the crisis in the war-torn country. It was the second phone call between the two senior officials since the Taliban takeover.

According to US State Department, the two agreed to continued coordination on Afghanistan. The call comes as several countries including the US and India are evacuating their citizens from the country.

"Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken spoke today with Indian External Affairs Minister Dr S. Jaishankar. Secretary Blinken and Minister Jaishankar discussed Afghanistan and agreed to continued coordination," said State Department spokesperson Ned Price.

Meanwhile, Blinken termed the phone call with Jaishankar as "productive".

Afghanistan's future is hanging in balance as the country's government collapsed last weekend after President Ashraf Ghani fled Kabul. The Taliban entered the presidential palace in the Afghan capital on August 15 and declared its victory over the government.

Efforts are being made to maintain stability in Afghanistan even as thousands of people have been rushing to the airport to flee the nation as they are afraid of the terror group's brutal atrocities in the nation.

In recent days, Blinken has had phone calls with several counterparts around the world, including Chinese FM Wang Yi and Russian Sergey Lavrov, to develop a consensus on the volatile situation in Afghanistan amid the US troop withdrawal.