National security advisor Ajit Doval on Friday urged the participant countries at a dialogue with counterparts from seven other countries, including China, to enhance the capability of Afghanistan to counter the terrorism and terrorist groups which pose a threat to regional peace and security. Right to life, dignified living, human rights, and accessibility to assistance were among the priorities highlighted by the top security official.
NSAs from eight countries meet in Dushanbe.
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Doval discussed the situation in Afghanistan and the region during a meeting of NSAs from Tajikistan, India, Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Iran, Kyrgyzstan and China, and highlighted the need to find constructive ways to ensure peace and stability in the Islamic Republic ruled by the Taliban. He stressed that the historical and civilisational relations with Afghanistan will continue to guide India’s approach.
He took the opportunity to make a point of how India has focused on infrastructure, connectivity and humanitarian assistance in Afghanistan over the decades. Following the Taliban’s takeover, India has already provided 17000 metric tonnes of wheat out of a total commitment of 50,000 MT, 5,00,000 doses of Covaxin, and 13 tons of essential life-saving medicines and winter clothing as well as 60 million doses of polio vaccine.
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As reports on the rights of Afghan women continue to emerge, Doval highlighted the need for representation of all sections of Afghan society, including women and minorities. He said such a step would ensure that the “collective energies of the largest possible proportion of the Afghan population feel motivated to contribute to nation-building.”
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As reports on the rights of Afghan women continue to emerge, Doval highlighted the need for representation of all sections of Afghan society, including women and minorities. He said such a step would ensure that the “collective energies of the largest possible proportion of the Afghan population feel motivated to contribute to nation-building.”
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“Women and youth are critical for the future of any society. Provision of education to girls and employment to women and youth will ensure productivity and spur growth. It will also have positive social impact including discouraging radical ideologies among youth,” Doval said at the meeting, according to people familiar with the matter.
He noted that India was and is an important stakeholder in Afghanistan and the special relationship with the people of Afghanistan over centuries will guide India’s approach.
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“Nothing can change this,” he said.
Urging partners for collective effort, Doval said the countries can help the people of Afghanistan to build a prosperous and vibrant nation once again.
The meeting followed the 3rd Regional Security Dialogue on Afghanistan held in New Delhi in November 2021.
Shishir Gupta is Executive Editor at Hindustan Times and one of India's top journalists covering national security, strategic affairs, foreign policy and geopolitics. Over the past three decades, he has extensively reported on India's military, diplomatic and security landscape, covering every major conflict and national security challenge, from the 1999 Kargil War and the 2020 East Ladakh standoff to Operation Sindoor in 2025. He has also covered major terror attacks, including the IC-814 hijacking, the 26/11 Mumbai attacks and the 2025 Pahalgam terror strike, along with numerous Pakistan-backed terrorist incidents in the Kashmir Valley and across India. He has reported on national and state elections for more than three decades. A recognised authority on strategic affairs, Gupta has covered India's nuclear programme since the Pokhran-II (Shakti series) tests in May 1998 and has written extensively on global nuclear issues, Indian diplomacy and the country's expanding global outreach. He has also reported widely on international conflicts and terrorism, with a special focus on the Indian subcontinent. Gupta has interviewed Prime Minister Narendra Modi more than four times, including Modi's first interview with the print media after becoming Prime Minister in May 2014. His other interviews include three with the Dalai Lama, as well as conversations with Benjamin Netanyahu, Amit Shah, Yogi Adityanath, S. Jaishankar, Nirmala Sitharaman and Piyush Goyal. He is the author of Indian Mujahideen: The Enemy Within (Hachette, 2011) and Himalayan Face-off: Chinese Assertion and Indian Riposte (Hachette, 2014). He was awarded the Chevening-Wolfson Joint Scholarship at Wolfson College, University of Cambridge, UK, in 1998 and participated in the International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) of the US State Department in 2006. He received the Ben Gurion Prize from Israel in 2011 and the K. Subrahmanyam Prize for Strategic Studies in 2015 from the Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (MP-IDSA). Since 2024, he has hosted Point Blank, Hindustan Times' weekly YouTube show on global geopolitics.
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