India on Thursday attended a regional convention hosted by Qatar to discuss ways to curb the escalating situation in Afghanistan in the backdrop of the Taliban’s pursued offensive across the country. J P Singh, the Joint Secretary in the Pakistan-Afghanistan-Iran division in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), represented India at the conclave, officials said.
MEA Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi stated various crucial stakeholders in Afghanistan joined the meeting. The invitation for the meeting to India was expanded by Qatari special delegate for conflict resolution Mutlaq bin Majed Al-Qahtani during his visit to the national capital last week, Bagchi said.
Al-Qahtani, the Special Delegate of the Foreign Minister of Qatar for Counter-terrorism and Mediation of Conflict Resolution, visited India evidently to discuss the latest evolutions in Afghanistan. He met External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla and Singh.
“We are committed to the long-term progress of Afghanistan. We would like to see a peaceful and democratic Afghanistan,” Bagchi stated at a media conference. Qatar’s capital Doha has been the venue for the intra-Afghan peace talks and the Gulf country has appeared as a significant player in facilitating the Afghan peace process.
The Taliban has been making rigorous advances across Afghanistan by resorting to widespread savagery since the United States began retracting its army from the country on May 1. The US has already withdrawn the majority of its forces and is looking to complete the drawdown by August 31.
India has been involved with a number of partners and leading powers on the latest progress in Afghanistan. India has been supporting a national peace and reconciliation process that is Afghan-led, Afghan-owned and Afghan-controlled.
It has also been summoning all departments of the political spectrum in Afghanistan to co-operate to meet the expectation of all people in the country, including those from the minority communities, for a comfortable and safe future.
