Welcoming diplomats on Saturday, including Pakistan’s foreign affairs advisor to its premier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said it was important to end terrorism and violence for fostering stability in Afghanistan and the region.
Foreign ministers of Kyrgyzstan, Iran, Afghanistan, and Slovakia, which holds the European Union Presidency this month, along with foreign affairs advisor to Pakistan’s Prime Minister, Sartaj Aziz, called on Modi ahead of the sixth to the Heart of Asia Conference on Afghanistan.
Modi stressed on “the need to end terrorism and violence for fostering stability, security and development in Afghanistan and our region,” external affairs ministry spokesperson, Vikas Swarup, said.
Modi also said it was the collective responsibility of all those in the region to work together to help Afghanistan out of its current difficulties, Swarup added.
The Prime Minister stated that his several interactions with both the common people of Afghanistan and the country’s leadership had convinced him that Afghans were tired of the continuing violence and terrorism.
In this context, Modi hoped the discussions in the conference will produce results.
{{/usCountry}}In this context, Modi hoped the discussions in the conference will produce results.
{{/usCountry}}“They (foreign ministers) greatly appreciated the continued commitment and engagement of India and its leadership for these ends. The foreign ministers warmly thanked India for hosting the Conference and expressed confidence that all friends of Afghanistan will work together for realising the aspirations for peace and development,” Swarup said.
Pakistan’s diplomat Aziz arrived in Amritsar earlier than scheduled amid speculation of possible bilateral meets between India-Pakistan as ties remain tenuous.
Read | No India-Pak bilateral meeting on sidelines of Heart of Asia conference
India’s external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj, who is undergoing treatment for renal failure, is not attending the conference; finance minister Arun Jaitley is instead heading the Indian delegation.
In a goodwill gesture, Aziz sent a bouquet to Swaraj, extending his “sincere good wishes for her full and speedy recovery” from illness.
Aziz, who arrived on a special flight, was received by Pakistan high commissioner Abdul Basit.
Pakistan and India had held a meeting during last year’s Heart of Asia Summit in Islamabad during which both countries had agreed to start a ‘Comprehensive Bilateral Dialogue’ which was to cover all outstanding issues. The resumption of the dialogue could, however, not take place due to the Pathankot terror attack in January this year.
Earlier this week, Basit had said they was ready for unconditional resumption of dialogue if India was ready.
Read | Heart of Asia summit: India, Afghanistan team to isolate Pakistan on terror
India has made it clear it will never accept continued cross border terrorism as the ‘new normal’ in bilateral ties with Pakistan and that talks cannot take place in an atmosphere of “continued terror”.
Tension between the two countries escalated after the cross border terror attack on an army base in Nagrota.
During Sunday’s proceedings at the conference, India is likely to step up its efforts to corner Pakistan diplomatically by mobilising support for concrete action against state-sponsored terrorism.
Afghanistan, which has also been witnessing increased attacks from terror groups operating from Pakistani soil, is set to push hard for a regional counter-terror framework with “binding” commitment at the annual HoA conference, a platform set up in 2011 to assist the war-ravaged country in its transition.
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