New Delhi: Ahead of the ‘Delhi Regional Security Dialogue on Afghanistan’, NSA Ajit Doval on Tuesday held separate bilateral talks with his counterparts from Tajikistan and Uzbekistan where issues pertaining to Afghanistan including the possible threat of terrorism from Afghan soil and the looming humanitarian crisis were discussed, news agency ANI cited official sources as informing.
This comes as India is set to host a regional security dialogue on Afghanistan on Wednesday for which the NSAs of Russia, Iran, China, Pakistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan have been formally invited.
NSA Ajit Doval will chair the ‘Delhi Regional Security Dialogue on Afghanistan’.
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In the meeting with Nasrullo Rahmatjon Mahmudzoda, the secretary of Tajikistan’s security council, there was a detailed exchange of views on Afghanistan with significant convergence of assessments, ANI reported sources as saying.
Concerns were expressed about the sharp increase in terrorist threats from Afghanistan in the recent past. The Tajikistan side highlighted the gravity of the situation in Afghanistan, the sources said.
The discussions also covered the looming humanitarian crisis in the war-torn country.
“On bilateral side, discussions took place on deepening cooperation in areas like defence, border management and border infrastructure development during the meeting with Tajikistan,” official sources said, as reported by ANI.
Meanwhile, in the meeting with Victor Makhmudov, the secretary of the security council of Uzbekistan, Afghanistan was again the major focus of discussions.
“Both sides agreed that the future of Afghanistan must be decided by the people of Afghanistan themselves,” sources privy to the development told ANI.
“They felt that the legitimacy of any Afghan government within Afghanistan was important before the issue of its international recognition. Both sides emphasised need for Afghanistan’s neighbours to ensure unhindered access of humanitarian assistance to people of Afghan,” they added.
It was reported that India and Uzbekistan highlighted the need for long term economic development of Afghanistan and agreed that neighbouring states must play a constructive role in the country.
About ‘Delhi Regional Security Dialogue on Afghanistan’
The NSAs of seven countries are said to have confirmed participation in the ‘Delhi Regional Security Dialogue on Afghanistan’ set to take place on Wednesday.
The countries include Iran, Russia, Uzbekistan, Kazhakistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan. Participating NSA’s will also jointly call on PM Modi, sources told ANI on Monday.
On the non-participation of Afghanistan, the ANI sources had stated: “None of the eight countries (including India) recognise or legitimise the Taliban government. India also doesn't recognise it, which is why it has not invited Afghanistan to the dialogue”.
The discussions will cover terrorism in Afghanistan and across bordering areas along with concerns on radicalisation and extremism.
It was stated that Central Asian countries are also worried about drug production and trafficking along with the threat emanating from military weapons left behind in Afghanistan.
Meanwhile, China said that it is unable to attend the conference due to scheduling issues while adding that it is open for dialogue with India on Afghanistan multilaterally and bilaterally.
Notably, Pakistan was earlier reported to have declined the invitation to the regional countries’ NSA-level meeting being hosted by India.
Two earlier meetings in this format were held in Iran in September 2018 and December 2019.
The third meeting in India could not be held earlier due to the Coronavirus pandemic.
The high-level participation meeting hosted by India is seen to reflect the widespread and growing concern of regional countries about the situation in Afghanistan and their desire to consult and coordinate with each other.
(With Agency Inputs)