E-Paper
Afghan foreign minister on 3-day visit to Delhi for talks on peace process
Atmar is visiting India close on the heels of a meeting of the “extended troika” on Afghanistan convened by Russia on March 18, and the trip will provide him an opportunity to exchange notes on recent developments related to the troubled peace process with Jaishankar.
Afghan foreign minister Mohammad Haneef Atmar arrived in New Delhi for a three-day visit on Monday, days ahead of a crucial regional meeting on Afghanistan that is expected to be attended by the foreign ministers of India and Pakistan.
Atmar will hold talks with his Indian counterpart S Jaishankar, National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and other senior officials during the visit. His discussions are expected to focus on bilateral relations, economic and security cooperation and the Afghan peace process.
The foreign ministers of India and Pakistan are expected to participate in the ministerial meeting of the Heart of Asia-Istanbul Process in the Tajikistan capital of Dushanbe on March 30. However, it is still not clear whether the Indian and Pakistani foreign ministers will hold a bilateral meeting in Dushanbe.
Heart of Asia, a regional initiative launched by Kabul and Ankara in November 2011, is one of the rare forums focused on Afghanistan that includes both India and Pakistan. The initiative includes 15 countries, including China, Russia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Central Asian states such as Tajikistan and Kazakhstan.
Atmar is visiting India close on the heels of a meeting of the “extended troika” on Afghanistan convened by Russia on March 18, and the trip will provide him an opportunity to exchange notes on recent developments related to the troubled peace process with Jaishankar, people familiar with developments said on condition of anonymity.
The Afghan foreign minister also spoke with his Pakistani counterpart Shah Mahmood Qureshi on March 19 and stressed the need for close cooperation between the two countries for building on the outcomes of peace efforts in Doha and Moscow. Atmar also discussed the upcoming Heart of Asia meeting in Dushanbe, he said in a tweet.
A statement issued by the Afghan foreign ministry on Monday said the purpose of Atmar’s visit is to “discuss bilateral relations, strengthen regional and international consensus on the Afghan peace process, and enhance cooperation in security, economic, political and cultural areas”.
Atmar will also meet former Indian ambassadors of Afghanistan, students, businessmen, representatives of Afghan Hindus and Afghan refugees living in India, the statement said.
The Heart of Asia meeting is also expected to figure in Atmar’s talks with Jaishankar, the people cited above said.
The past few weeks have witnessed a flurry of Afghanistan-related developments against the backdrop of a fresh US initiative to find a political settlement in the war-torn country.
These developments followed US secretary of state Antony Blinken’s letter to President Ashraf Ghani, outlining the next steps in the peace process and a draft “peace agreement”, which were first accessed by Afghanistan’s Tolo News channel.
The US special representative for Afghanistan reconciliation, Zalmay Khalilzad, spoke to Jaishankar on phone on March 7 and visited Islamabad the following day.
Khalilzad also attended the “extended troika” meeting in Moscow on March 18 that was joined by officials from the US, Russia and China – the members of the troika – and officials from Pakistan and Afghanistan, members of the Afghan High Council for National Reconciliation, leading Afghan politicians and representatives of the Taliban.
A joint statement issued after the Moscow meeting ruled out the restoration of the Taliban’s “Islamic Emirate” and called on the militant group not to launch a spring offensive.
