Afghanistan’s top peace negotiator, Abdullah Abdullah, arrived in India on Tuesday afternoon for a five-day visit during which he will hold talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Foreign Minister S Jaishankar.
Abdullah’s visit is part of an outreach to key countries in the region to support negotiations between the Afghan government and the Taliban in Doha in Qatar, people familiar with the events said.
He will meet Modi at the prime minister’s official residence on Thursday and Jaishankar on Friday. Abdullah will also participate in an interaction at the Institute for Defense Studies and Analysis (IDSA) on Thursday.
Abdullah is also expected to have interactions with key members of the Indian security system, including National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, although details could not be determined immediately. Interactions with the Afghan community in New Delhi are also at stake.
The president of the Higher Council for National Reconciliation in Afghanistan travels to India after a three-day visit to Pakistan last week. In Islamabad, he had met with Prime Minister Imran Khan, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and the army chief, General Qamar Bajwa.
Also read: India’s position on peace in Afghanistan | Opinion
Abdullah told Pakistani leaders that a message on reducing violence and showing greater flexibility in the negotiations should be communicated to Taliban leaders participating in the Doha negotiations.
This is Abdullah’s first visit to India after the formation of a new government in Kabul following last year’s turbulent elections.
The persons quoted above said, on condition of anonymity, that Abdullah is expected to seek the support of Indian leaders for intra-Afghan negotiations. India sent an official delegation to Doha to attend the event that marked the start of the negotiations.
The event was also addressed by videoconference by Jaishankar, who said that any new dispensations arising from the intra-Afghan dialogue process must ensure that Afghanistan’s soil is never used for anti-Indian activities.
Senior Afghan leader Marshal Abdul Rashid Dostum visited India on September 25 and held talks on the peace process with Jaishankar, who told him that New Delhi remains committed to Afghan-led, controlled and controlled negotiations.
India, the region’s largest provider of development aid to Afghanistan, has expressed concern about the recent increase in violence by the Taliban and terrorist attacks against minorities such as Sikhs. He has said that intra-Afghan negotiations should guarantee the interests of minorities, women and vulnerable sectors of society and reduce violence in and around Afghanistan.
Since 2001, India has undertaken projects worth $ 3 billion in Afghanistan, including $ 1 billion pledged in 2016 under the “new partnership for development” scheme for five years.
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