India To Host NSA-Level Meet Over Afghanistan On Nov 10. Pakistan Declines Invite, China Yet To Respond

Pakistan is reported to have declined the invitation to the regional countries’ NSA-level meeting being hosted by India and China is yet to respond.

NSA Ajit Doval (File Photo)

New Delhi: India will host a regional security dialogue on Afghanistan on November 10. The meeting will be conducted at the national security advisor (NSA)-level, news agency ANI cited sources as informing on Friday. 

India had formally invited the NSAs of Russia, Iran, China, Pakistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan for the conference. NSA Ajit Doval will chair the meeting next week, the report stated. 

According to ANI sources, there has been an overwhelming response to India’s invitation. 

Several countries including Russia and Iran are informed to have confirmed their participation in the meeting wherein not just Afghanistan’s immediate land neighbours and other Central Asian countries are invited. 

“The enthusiastic response is a manifestation of the importance attached to India’s role in regional efforts to promote peace and security in Afghanistan,” sources said, as quoted by ANI. 

Meanwhile, Pakistan is reported to have declined the invitation to the regional countries’ NSA-level meeting being hosted by India. 

“Pakistan’s decision is unfortunate, but not surprising. It reflects its mindset of viewing Afghanistan as its protectorate. Pakistan has not attended the previous meetings of this format. Its media comments against India are an unsuccessful attempt to deflect attention from its pernicious role in Afghanistan,” ANI quoted its sources as saying. 

Besides Pakistan, another country that has not yet responded to India’s invitation is China. 

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. 

According to ANI sources, the high-level participation in next week’s meeting hosted by India reflects the widespread and growing concern of regional countries about the situation in Afghanistan and their desire to consult and coordinate with each other. 

India has an important role to play in this process, they maintained.